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Tag: Democracy

  • Liberia: Model of democracy in Africa – Jonathan

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan says Liberia is becoming a model of democracy in Africa and beyond, having attained “political stability’’.

    Jonathan told newsmen in the capital, Monrovia, during Tuesday’s presidential run-off election, that democracy had been institutionalised in Liberia.

    He spoke in his capacity as co-leader of the United States’ National Democratic Institute (NDI) International Elections Observation Mission to Liberia for the run-off polls.

    “Looking at the political history of Liberia, the country has passed through challenges.

    “They conducted elections and the President stayed for the complete two terms and this president is about handing over to another elected president.

    “That shows that Liberia is now politically stable to be a good example of democracy. Democracy is being institutionalised in Liberia.

    “It will help the country because it shows that the country is stable and it will attract foreign direct investors.

    “And for Africa, especially in the West African sub-region, it is a great achievement,’’ he said.

    The former Nigerian president said the Liberian situation would greatly inspire other African countries on the need to maintain stabiity.

    He added that the election would encourage African leaders to imbibe constitutional means in addressing political challenges.

    “When I was in office, we tried to make sure that we stabilised democracy across the ECOWAS states because (of) the issue of all kinds of unconstitutional government; we see that it is over in ECOWAS and Africa.

    “The Liberian situation will help us so much because it is another clear case of a country that has moved from some illegitimate government and crisis to an established and stable democracy.

    “This transition is critical because if we succeed, if Liberia succeeds, West Africa has succeeded, Africa has succeeded,’’ he said.

    Jonathan noted that a successful completion of the electoral process was of interest to Africa and the international community.

    Liberian voters have chosen a successor to outgoing President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, whose 12-year tenure ends in January.

    Results of the delayed run-off election, due to be announced in three days, would determine the winner between ex-football superstar, Sen. George Weah and Vice President Joseph Boakai.

     

  • Dogara to speak on Legislature and deepening democracy in Nigeria

    Dogara to speak on Legislature and deepening democracy in Nigeria

    As part of showcasing the critical and stabilising role the Legislature plays in democratic consolidation in Nigeria and imparting such knowledge on the younger generation to prepare them for leadership roles in the future, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, will deliver a lecture on the legislature’s role in deepening democracy in Nigeria to the University community in Nasarawa State.

    The Speaker will be presenting a paper, titled “Deepening Democracy: The Role of the Legislature”, at the 3rd public lecture of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasarawa State.

    Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and former Nigerian permanent representative to the United Nation, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, were previous speakers in the first and second series respectively.

    Former Nasarawa State governor, Sen Abdullahi Adamu is slated to chair the occasion which will hold on Monday, December 11, 2017, at the University Assembly hall.

    Hon Dogara, a Masters Degree holder in International Commercial Law, has special interest in democratic studies, independence of the legislature and constitutional law.

  • Poverty threatening Nigeria’s democracy – Dogara

    …Explains Why National Assembly Hasn’t Transmitted Constitution Amendment Bills To State Legislatures

    …Says National Assembly members are not Abuja Politicians

    …As State legislatures promise speedy consideration

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said that extreme poverty is threatening Nigeria’s democracy.

    Speaking when he received a delegation from the Conference of Speakers of Nigerian State Legislatures, led by Hon Ismaila Abdulmumin Kamba, in his office on Wednesday, Hon. Dogara, noted that there is the urgent need for governments at all levels to put the citizens on the path of prosperity in order to save the country’s democracy.

    To achieve this, he said, State Houses of Assembly will have to work hard to improve their monitoring of state funds to ensure that they are properly utilised for the betterment of their people as doing this will help lift the vast population of the people from poverty.

    He stated, “We know that if something has to be done at the level of government that will translate into a better life of our people, it must begin from the local government level, at the state level, and then before we even talk about the federal level.”

    The speaker, however, advised that while they should be fearless in carrying out their responsibilities, they should oversight their state executives without being combative.

    “In democracy, we worship no one, we should fear only God but we respect men.

    When you have a parliament that only responds to the demands of the executive, there is no way we can make progress. We have to carry out our responsibilities without having any fear at all,” he stated.

    “The promise of democracy is basically life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It, therefore, means that if a citizen is poor, he is excluded from the promise of democracy. He may have a life but as a matter of fact, his kind of life is even worse than death. So poverty tends to becloud someone’s sense of reasoning and imagination.”

    “That is why even at the level of the United Nations, a day has been set aside to talk about the elimination of extreme poverty which excludes citizens of democracy from the promise of democracy and that promise is the pursuit of happiness. If you are poor, you may not have a life and even if you have a life, it may not be desirable. A poor man is not free, you know that very well except you have not tasted poverty. So completely, you are eliminated from the promise of democracy.”

    The Speaker, therefore, called on the state MPs to utilise the opportunity in the proposed amendments to approve financial autonomy for state legislatures and local governments councils in order to free themselves from the reins of state executives and strengthen their roles of oversight.

    He also explained the delay in the transmission of the Constitution Amendment Bills recently passed by both chambers of the National Assembly to state MPs, saying it is as a result of ongoing consultations between the two Houses to harmonised all areas of differences in order to produce a uniform document.

    Condemning the use of the term “Abuja politicians” to describe federal legislators, he noted that most of their work at the federal level is primarily for the development of the grassroots where most of their voters reside.

    “At the federal level, whatever we do kind of translate into an impact at the local level where a majority of our people live. As a matter of fact, I find it very funny, if not offensive, that some people refer to some of us as Abuja politicians as if we were voted for here in Abuja. Not minding that our people are there, our brother here who is from Bauchi State knows the kind of struggle we go through during elections. So, as far as I am concerned, it beats my imagination when someone refers to a legislator as an Abuja politician,” he explained.

    Earlier, chairman of the Conference of Speakers of Nigerian State Legislatures., Hon Ismaila Abdulmumin Kamba, said they were waiting anxiously for the constitution amendment bills to be transmitted to them for consideration and passage.

    He said, “We at the Conference of Speakers are ready to do justice to these issues. We have already concluded that whatever you will transmit to us, we will carry our strata and groups along and agree that whatever the majority may agree on will be carried.”

  • National Assembly has helped stabilised Nigeria’s democracy – Dogara

    The Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said the National Assembly had made appreciable efforts in fulfilling its democratic obligations to Nigerians by paying particular attention to capacity-building.

    Dogara stated this on Thursday at the third matriculation of the National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS)/University of Benin Postgraduate Programme at the National Assembly, Abuja.

    He explained that parliamentary capacity development was important to ensure balance of power among the branches of a democratic system – Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.

    He said that the trio constituted mechanism of checks and balances essential to sustainable progress and economic growth and development in the country.

    The speaker said that it was common knowledge in parliaments across the world that nothing hindered the delivery of the promise of democracy more than lack of capacity.

    He commended NILS/UNIBEN for the programmes designed to build capacity of legislative staff.

    He said that the knowledge imparted to participants would build a pool of competent staff and members to enhance international best practices in the discharge of their duties.

    “The point must be made that it is knowledge that animates parliaments all over the world while nothing stultifies the promise of democracy more than an intellectually hollow parliament.

    “By paying particular attention to capacity strengthening, the National Assembly has made appreciable progress in fulfilling its democratic obligations.

    “The capacity of the National Assembly to make laws, review existing laws and perform legislative oversight and representative roles has been significantly enhanced and the technical capacity of staff and legislative aides is progressively being strengthened and expanded.

    “These legislative responsibilities have become even more critical since the coming into operation of the 1999 Constitution as demonstrated by the robust role being played by the legislature in our democracy.

    “It is also in the movement towards an open society in which citizens participate more in matters of national importance, contribute in decision-making processes and demand greater accountability on the part of political office holders,’’ he said.

    Dogara congratulated the students and some of the icons of the legislature who were honoured with Fellowship of National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS).

    He said that the fellowship award was in recognition of their contributions to the growth and development of the legislature in Nigeria.

    Those awarded with Fellows of NILS were former Presidents of the Senate, Joseph Wayas and Ken Nnamani, former Speakers of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba and Aminu Masari.

    NAN

  • Return us to power in 2019 to consolidate gains of democracy – PDP tells Nigerians

    The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said on Saturday that it would consolidate the gains of democracy should it return to power in 2019.

    A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Nicholas Ossai (Delta-PDP), made this disclosure in an interview with the newsmen in Abuja.

    Ossai said that the PDP non-elective national convention would provide a platform to further unite members of the party.

    According to the lawmaker, this is a new era for the country’s political journey.

    “PDP has come to consolidate on the gains it achieved over the years because it has experienced people, and this is the time to come together in order to move the country forward.

    “The regional agitations and economic challenges being witnessed in the country should not continue.

    “The PDP is made up of a highly intellectual political class, that has the capacity to turn things around and manage the country’s economy well,” Ossai said.

    He urged youths to aspire to leadership positions and refrain from activities capable of truncating the nation’s democracy.

    Ossai also advised the youth to explore the opportunity provided by the party’s convention to contribute to national development.

    He said that internal party democracy was crucial to sustaining the party’s growth, adding that PDP would intensify efforts to woo aggrieved members back to the party.

     

     

    NAN

  • June 12: Abiola paid supreme price for Nigeria’s democracy – Amosun

    June 12: Abiola paid supreme price for Nigeria’s democracy – Amosun

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State said on Monday in Abeokuta, that the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola paid the supreme price for Democracy in Nigeria.

    Amosun spoke shortly after he led a walk from the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto Abeokuta, to the Oke Ido family house of late Abiola.

    The walk to celebrate the day is tagged “Democracy Walk: Lets Walk the Hope.”

    The governor maintained that the June 12 event transcends Ogun, South West, Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

    He said: “Late Abiola laboured so much for us, he paid the supreme price for Nigeria’s democracy. The struggle he died for transcends Abeokuta, Ogun, South West and Africa too, and we are happy about that.

    “Nigerians trust him and that is why they voted for him. It is a history we must continue to recognise.

    ” He lives on. We political office holders must toe the path Abiola toed . M.K.O will continue to live on and generations will come to know what June 12 is all about. June 12 will continue.”

    He promised that the state government would continue to honour the day, saying the government would take the celebration beyond walk in the nearest future.

    Also speaking, Joe Okey-Odumakin said that Abiola paid the ultimate price for Nigeria’s democracy, adding that his votes cut across tribal and religious lines.

    The human rights activist declared that until Nigeria is restructured , it would not move forward.

    “June 12 votes cut across tribal and religious lines; it helps in promoting national integrity. June 12 was about three choices. It was non-violent, it was a raining day and people went out in a non- violent approach.

    “As we are gathered here today, I want us to know that MKO died for us, it is our collective responsibilities to keep the spirit of MKO Abiola alive. MKO Abiola paid the ultimate price, so he lives forever.

    The spokesperson of the Afenifere Renewal Group, Mr Yinka Odumakin, said that the memory being celebrated today showed that MKO was still alive.

    “The issues raised by June 12 are still very much with us and if we realise this with a restructured Nigeria, it will make Nigeria better for all nationalities and all in the country, ” he said.

    Responding on behalf of the family, Alhaji Tajudeen Abiola, praised the state government for supporting the family.

    He revealed that when their elder brother, Bashiru was sick, the governor flown him abroad for treatment.

    ” The government has been supporting us, the governor always help us and all his team too. Whenever they hear you are from Abiola’s family, they always help. We really thank the governor for his support,’’ he said.

    Other personalities that participated in the walk were: Amosun’s Deputy, Mrs Yetunde Onanuga, Speaker State House of Assembly, Mr Suraj Adekunbi, former governor of Kwara, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, among others.

     

     

    NAN

  • Democracy: Reps hail Jonathan, says he acted like ‘a true African leader’

    Democracy: Reps hail Jonathan, says he acted like ‘a true African leader’

    It was indeed a surprising moment of showering encomiums on former President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday in the House of Representatives for willingly relinquishing power to his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2015 after a keenly contested election.

    The reps noted that Jonathan’s action as helped in stabilising the country feeble and nascent democracy which has not witnessed the handing over of power from a sitting president to a president-elect from opposition party.

    The praises for the former president came as the House debated a motion to celebrate Democracy Day (May 29) and restate faith in it as the best form of government ‘in spite of present challenges’.

    Members generally kicked against any thinking that a coup or the return of the military to power was an option.

    The motion was moved by the Chairman, House Committee on Rules/Business, Mr Orker Jev, a member of the APC from Benue State.

    The House Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, led members in praising Jonathan.

    He noted that the former President acted ‘uncharacteristically, as an African leader’, to have handed over power willingly to a successor.

    He further said that without Jonathan’s decision, the country might not be celebrating two years of the current administration in office.

    However, Gbajabiamila explained that the commendation was done to underscore the point that celebrating democracy should be above partisanship.

    He added that this was unlike the position of his colleagues in the Peoples Democratic Party, who would say they had not seen any change in the country in the last two years after Buhari took over governance.

    The House leader argued that celebrating democracy actually meant celebrating the unity of the country since 1999.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that former President Goodluck Jonathan handed over power to President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2015 after the 2015 general elections.

  • June 12, not May 29 should be named Democracy Day – Joe Keshi

    By Sunny Ogefere

    Former permanent secretary in the ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Joe Keshi has urged the Federal Government to name June 12 Democracy Day instead of the May 29 that is currently fixed at.

    Keshi also noted that the President Muhammadu Buhari led All Progressives Congress, APC, is yet to fulfill its promised change to the electorates.

    Keshi said this in an interview with Sunny Ogefere on the sidelines of Democracy Day and what it truly stands for.

    Democracy Day

    “I honestly feel that the time has come for us to properly name June 12 as the Democracy Day. What is happening now is that we are confusing two things together – Presently in all the news items nobody is talking about democracy per se. The concentration is on the government’s performance. So it is the government’s performance that is being judged; whether the APC government has performed or not and nobody is talking about Democracy Day in reality

    So if we separate the two, it means that the actual Democracy Day will focus on what is actually democracy and the relevance of democracy to our lives. As it is now our democracy is still very fragile and we are not doing enough to expand the consolidation

    For example, if you name June 12 as Democracy Day it gives us the opportunity to talk about democracy itself; as a system of governance whether it is walking or not walking well. But more interestingly, it gives us the opportunity to do two other things. Firstly, to celebrate the heroes of our democratic struggle; and secondly, to talk to young people about the whole essence of democracy itself and why they should be involved.

    So you do not mix it up with judging government’s performance

    But in terms of democracy, well you could look at it and say we have done 18 years. But the reality is that the political parties are doing badly. There is no internal democracy; they are all riddled with crisis and that is because the managers of the party have stifled the parties; to the extent that it is difficult for new entrants to come in and be useful or even seek for election.

    For instance look at the cost imposed by political parties for you to want to contest. You are going to charge somebody who want to contest for office of the president about $11million, is that what democracy is all about? The political parties are so badly managed that I doubt if they pay annual dues or membership fees. They all depend on government even till date. In the news currently, some party members were complaining that the governors refused to bring money to organize the party, is that not corruption?

    Until we understand that the role of political party is to galvanize people towards a shared vision of policies and issues and we defend them, there is no ideology, there is no philosophy guiding any political party at all. So if election is conducted today, if party A wins everybody decamps to party A. If you look at the APC, more that 70 per cent of the core members of the APC were in PDP.

    So we are moving on but it is worrisome because what we are doing is not really democracy. It’s all about power and power. You just grab power and you are a democrat. If not how will you see a situation where some people have carpet crossed four or five times? Any time a party wins they cross and they keep on. The states are not free still. The party managers manage the states for those they want to remain in power. So it is no free and fair yet at the political level.

    We need to consolidate our democracy or else we will be in trouble in the future”.

    Present Governance

    “The unfortunate thing about the APC administration is that they started by looking at the past and pretending that without dealing with the past, they cannot deal with the future. That is not true. Election is about the future and not the past. Secondly, is the fact that the fundamentals for Nigeria’s greatness is there.

    When you compare 1960 to 2017, you will discover that in 1960 there was hope that Nigeria will be a great nation as compared to some of the Asian countries. But within 30 years, all those Asian countries have grown to become super powers in their own right. We are still struggling; we do not have an industrial base, we do not have a scientific base; you can just name everything that is missing.

    But the fundamental to leap into greatness is already there, we have it now; what we lack is the leadership to drive the process and if we can just get the leadership, under 10 years, we can actually do wonders. And that is why it is so sad that the government that promised change came and has not been able to engineer that change. Instead, it has expanded the contradictions in the Nigerian society by the way it has marginalized and discriminated against a few people, by the way it has pursued the fight against corruption.

    What is wrong with that battle is that it is not being fought with a view to properly eradicate the disease because what fuels corruption is mostly dependent on government. So the first thing to do is how to reduce the influence of government in business; how do you get private sector to take more roles and pull out the government

    Today we are still awarding so many contracts for infrastructure and so on. The question is can we not get the private sector to build these infrastructures? We keep repeating the same thing over and over again, and these are all the avenues that funds get leaked out of the system … We are more or less fighting individuals, we have not blocked the leakages or the circumstances that encourages corruption.

    Our health system is still in the same place; our educational system is still in the same place. So substantially, there has been no change. Of course on the economic front, there are beginning to be a few good things, but if care is not taken and this is not done across the value chain, we might go back.

    Right now the major focus of the political class is on politics and politics of succession.”

  • Democracy remains our best hope – Atiku

    Democracy remains our best hope – Atiku

    Former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar congratulates Nigerians of all political persuasions on the occasion of this years’ Democracy Day, which coincides with the 2nd anniversary of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, stressing that democracy and representative government which it brings to birth remains the best and only hope of the country.

    In a press statement released by his Media Office in Abuja, the Turakin Adamawa says that Nigerians should be proud of themselves for doing away with military governments in 1999, in favour of Democracy, which the World over, gives voice and a sense of belonging to more people in the society.

    He counsels all those who may be contemplating alternatives to perish such thoughts as the worst form of democratic rule has been adjudged far better than the best form of military dictatorship.

    According to him, since Nigeria instituted the democratic system in 1999, the nation has been able to accomplish a lot in social, economic and human development adding that in those other areas where the nation is lacking, the system makes it possible for the problems to be brought to the public arena for discussion and settlement, in democratic institutions like the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly.

    The APC chieftain opines that among the virtues of democracy, aside public discussion, is the culture of patience with the leadership which informs that once an election has taken place, and a leader is elected, the populace has to be patient with the Leader until he completes his tenure. The implication of this, says the Turaki, is that a democratic system imbues the people with political wisdom, to improve on their mode of selection of leaders with each election that takes place.

    The former Vice President, says that the best guarantee for the peace, progress and development of plural societies like Nigeria, and even homogeneous entities, is democracy because popular political participation and inclusiveness in government helps to develop patriotism in the citizenry and this galvanizes the best endeavours of the people for the development of the society.

    Noting that the beauty of democracy is the opportunity it gives to the people to elect their leaders, the former Vice President acknowledges the improvements in the electoral processes over the years since 1999 and calls on the Independent National Electoral Commission not to rest on its oars in making credible and transparent elections possible in the country. He also calls on Nigerians to take keenly to voter education because, “it takes and informed electorate to elect and informed leadership”.

    While wishing the Government and People the best of this period, which coincides with the second anniversary of this administration, and the days ahead, the former Vice President and recipient of the “Hero of Nigeria Democracy” award, urges Nigerians to pray for the quick recovery and safe return of President Muhammadu Buhari to continue with the work of entrenching democracy and development in the country.

     

  • APC has done nothing in the last 2 years – PDP

    The People’s Democratic Party has said the ruling All Progressives Congress has nothing to celebrate in the last two years.

    National Publicity Secretary of the Senator Ahmed Maikarfi-led National Working Committee, Dayo Adeyeye said this in a statement on Sunday.

    According to him, the APC has not fought against corruption as promised but only made noise.

    He lamented that Nigerians had nothing to celebrate as the APC “has plunged the vast majority of the people into this two years of despondency, ambiguity, repressed and depressed condition and still ongoing.”

    He said, “Beginning with the issue of corruption in this discussion is critical in line with the APC/President Buhari’s ‘Change Agenda’ and ‘hype in corruption chase’ which has left sour taste given the dishonesty and charade that has characterized the actions of this Government so far.

    “For the record, ‘corruption’ is endemic in our system since the Military era and using it to weep citizens’ sentiments is absurd while playing ignorant of honest achievements made by PDP Governments to combat this alarming menace.

    “The Question is what has the APC done to fight corruption? Nothing! Yes indeed nothing except noise, hounding, torturing, flouting of court orders and vilification of opposition leaders and members in and out of courts/incarcerations without proving anything; harassments, intimidation, indiscriminate arrests and detention of Judges in order to cow them to desecrate the Judiciary and deny the people justice; promote Gestapo State and by extension, kill democracy.”

    He said Nigerians have lost confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission.

    He said the APC has prevented the Commission from effectively doing its job.

    He noted the INEC demonstrated loss of integrity in the gubernatorial elections in Edo, Ondo, Bayelsa and other elections conducted by the commission.