Politics
Democracy Taking Stronger Roots In Nigeria – Dekor
Twenty – nine years after the June 12, 1993 General Elections, adjudged the freest and fairest in Nigeria, was anulled by the military junta of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, stakeholders believe that enough lessons had been learnt from that sordid political experience which has evidently shaped the very spirit and character of political transition in the country.
Without any pretence, Nigerians acknowledge the effects of that singular political decision on democratic transition in the country, and are more cautious against such political tendencies.
Key stakeholders and political players are of the view that lessons from the June 12 debacle had forestalled such instances of abridgement of the civic rights of Nigerians, as the populace is more adaptable to the rules of popular democracy and more vigilant over their civic responsibilities, while the ruling class is also awakening to how to use power without abusing it.
In the candid postulation and opinion of Rt Hon Dumnamene Dekor, member representing Khana/ Gokana Federal Constituency in the National Assembly on the chequered political development of Nigeria, Democracy is getting more consolidated and rooted in the country and should be protected.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt recently, Hon Dekor, a former Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, said the June 12 experience has become a focal point of sober reasoning in terms of democratic transition and political governance in Nigeria.
According to Dekor, Nigerians learnt great lessons from June 12 and came out of the experience with a resolute stance on populist participation in the process of governance as the sustainable foundation of the nation’s political growth.
”Democracy has come to stay in Nigeria, there is no better option for the development of the country than democracy. What we need to do is to tailor our democracy towards our needs. There is the need to strengthen our democratic institutions. Every society passes through challenging moments to get more strengthened. Nigeria has come of age to tackle its inherent socio-economic and political challenges. I’m happy over the reforms that are going on in the country. Today-we have an INEC that is prepared. There is hope for a brighter prospect of democratic experience where the people will play active roles; where the people will be able to exercise their statutory mandate and trust the outcome of the process”, he said.
Commenting further on citizenship awareness and participation in the democratic process, Hon Dekor said there was need for massive voter education of the populace by relevant agencies such as the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Media, Civil Society Organisations, among others to rouse the people from their apathy and mobilise them against accepting seasonal political tokens from politicians in exchange of their liberty.
He observed that the visibility of the key mobilisation agency, the NOA, has been dismal and urged the agency to be proactive in the discharge of its statutory function.
“The bulk of the country’s population reside in the rural areas and there’s need for effective mobilisation for them to key into the stream of political activities. The NOA, the major agency vested with this responsibility is not doing enough in this regard. The impact of the agency has not been felt in recent times. Particularly, now we are in a political transition, they need to wake up to their responsibilities by embarking on massive campaigns and orientation of the people to participate in the process of political governance”, he pointed out.
Speaking on the just concluded party primaries across the country, Hon Dekor who is a stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the process so far has been interesting but there was need for more improvement to address some clearly identified lapses.
Using PDP primaries as a case study, he said at the state level, particularly in Rivers State, the party has remained focused and united in building concensus because of its formidable leadership.
However, at the national level, he noted a deviation from the letters of the constitution of the party which centres on zoning as a yardstick of balancing power equations.
Hon Dekor was also deeply concerned about the minority question in Nigeria. He said Nigeria as a federation of component units should respond to the imperatives of justice by devolving powers to the component units and not operate on a behemoth called federal government which is highly centralised.
“One of the greatest challenges of nation building is the minority question. The minorities in Nigeria have not been treated fairly despite their enormous contributions to the economic development of the country. Issues concerning the development of the minorities are treated with negligible attention.
“For example, the issue of soot emission in Rivers State which has caused grave environmental and health challenges has not unnerved the Federal Ministry of Environment, despite all the overtures of the Rivers State Government to get their attention to the malaise. This is unfair.
“There’s need for fiscal federalism and devolution of powers to the federating units. The centralised federal structure in operation is inimical to national development and growth as the minorities are always slighted in the distribution of the common wealth of the nation to which they are the major contributors”, the seasoned legislator said.
The federal lawmaker applauded Governor Nyesom Wike over his bold stride to challenge institutional flaws in the Nigerian federation as exemplified in the issue of Value Added Tax, (VAT) and other imbalances and usurpation of the fundamental rights of the states.
He said Rivers State should not only be seen as a political bride to be used to achieve vested political interests but should as well be given commensurate honour in terms of the state’s contributions to the economic development of the country.
In his assessment of the potency of the Legislative arm of government in Nigeria within the past years of the country’s democratic evolution, Hon Dekor said that Nigeria’s legislature has made remarkable improvement so far.
He explained that the Legislative arm of government had been the major victim of military dictatorship in Nigeria as they were always suspended and decreed out of existence while the Judiciary always existed as the defense forces assumed executive leadership.
According him such disbandment of the Legislature amounted to the total callapse of democracy, as the Legislature was the true repository of representative democracy.
He, however, expressed hope that years of uninterrupted democratic rule in the country have reinvigorated the legislative arm of government to play it’s statutory lawmaking role, noting that good governance thrives on effective and efficient legislative practices.
Hon Dekor identified external and extraneous influences as a major hindrance to the evolution of an independent parliament and recommended that leadership of the legislative arm of government be allowed to evolve internally without undue interference.
Asked his assessment of the Ogoni Clean Up Project by the Federal Government, the federal lawmaker who is the Chairman, House Committee on Host Communities in the House of Representatives said he would be able to make a formal comment on the state of the Ogoni clean- up venture after the exercise of the oversight function of the committee which would commence soon.
Commenting on the role of the Local Government as the closest tier of government to the people, he noted that the local councils owed the people a duty to ensure security and development of the local communities.
He commended the Chairmen of Khana and Gokana LGAs for their developmental strides within one year in office, particularly in the areas of security, youth empowerment and infrastructural development.
Hon. Dekor urged Local Government chairmen across the state not to rest on their oars but be proactive in dispensing governance to the rural areas and stimulating robust rural economies.
Hon. Dekor, who is seen as a man of intense grassroots involvement is the candidate of the PDP for a second term to represent the Khana /Gokana Federal Constituency in next year’s general elections.
He believes that his achievements and endearing attributes would earn him the mandate of the people for another legislative tenure.
By: Taneh Beemene
Politics
Senegal: Faye Set To Become Youngest Elected African President As Rival Concedes Defeat
Senegalese politician, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, (44), is set to become the youngest elected leader on the African continent.
While Faye’s main rival, Amadou Ba, from the ruling coalition had said a run-off might happen to determine the winner, at least five of the 19 candidates in the race had issued statements to congratulate Faye as of early Monday.
“For our part, and considering the feedback of the results from our team of experts, we are certain that, in the worst case scenario, we will go to a run-off,” Ba, a former Senegalese Prime Minister, had said.
But as Faye’s lead got wider, Ba called to concede victory in Sunday’s presidential elections, BBC quoted a government official to have said.
Faye’s lead had spurred his followers to troop out in celebration on the streets of the capital, Dakar, on Sunday.
Reports revealed that millions took part in a peaceful day of voting to elect Senegal’s fifth president after three years of unprecedented political turbulence that triggered violent anti-government protests and bolstered support for the opposition.
Faye is a Senegalese politician and a former tax inspector, who also served as the General Secretary of dissolved PASTEF.
He contested the highest political position in the West African country in place of disqualified candidate Ousmane Sonko.
Senegalese voters had a choice among 19 contenders to replace Sall, who is stepping down after a second term marred by unrest over the prosecution of opposition leader Sonko.
The incumbent was not on the ballot for the first time in Senegal’s history. His ruling coalition picked Ba, 62, as its candidate.
In a country of over 18 million people, 7.3 million people were registered to vote, and about 71 percent voter turnout was recorded, Senegal’s State TV reported.
Politics
Writing Judgment For Presidential Election Tribunal Allegation, FG Arraigns One
The Federal Government has arraigned one Chike Ibezim for allegedly defaming Babatunde Fashola, former Minister of Works and Housing.
Ibezim is one of three individuals who alleged that Fashola had written the judgments of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) that dismissed the petitions by the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ibezim was arraigned on Monday before a federal high court in Abuja on a six-count charge.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/434/2023, borders on criminal conspiracy, cyberstalking, and defamation, among others.
The matter is before Bolaji Olajuwon and has been adjourned till April 15 for continuation of trial.
Count one of the charges reads: “That you Ibezim Chike Victor, male with Jackson Udeh, Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim and Reportera.ng (body corporate) now at large on or about 05/08/2023 at Abuja, did commit an illegal Act to wit: criminal conspiracy; when you jointly agreed to publish a defamatory statement of false allegations in your online social media, the reportera.ng news, against His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, CON, without justification, you thereby commit offence punishable under Section 27(1)(b) of the Cyber-crime Prohibition, Prevention Act 2015.”
However, Fashola said the allegation was “baseless and defamatory”.
The former minister described those behind the allegations as “agents of destabilisation”.
Politics
Soludo’s Performance Assessment, APGA Tackles LP Chieftain
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has faulted a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), Valentine Ozigbo, over his comments that the performance of Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, after two years in office, was “not impressive.”
Mr Ozigbo, who was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2021 Anambra State governorship election, now a chieftain of the LP, stated during an interactive session with journalists last weekend that he was not impressed about Governor Soludo’s performance and has therefore decided to contest the 2025 governorship election in the state.
He said, “We have seen the leadership of Soludo in two years, and some of you may be impressed, but I am not. After the last election in 2021, I called and wished him well and moved on, and we have never spoken again. My decision was to assess him after two years, and having seen it, I am not impressed, and I want to start holding him accountable.
“I am here to share my thoughts with you, what I think, and no matter how you see what he (Soludo) is doing, you will be more proud when I mount the saddle.
“We need to change the narrative and look for a way to survive. We must fight to rescue Anambra. I am a non-transactional politician. I have several things I can do, but my worry is how we can recover the state and put her on the path of development.
“Zoning is a good thing. But it must be combined with competence to make sense. Don’t pick a renegade just because he is from a certain zone, and don’t pick the best, when you know you can pick one that is better.”
Mr Ozigbo said further, “I respect zoning, and I will be making a case for a single term of four years. Anyone who sees what Alex Otti is doing in Abia State will know that four years is enough time to do a lot of work.
“I will honour that principle of zoning, and I will not need anyone’s push or prompting to do otherwise. I will be ready to do an agreement and do an undertaking that I will do just one term. I also wish to tell you that Peter Obi has been consistent that a southerner who emerges will only do one term.
“It is a settled matter that I intend to run for just one term. I intend to keep faith with the agreement.”
But reacting to the development in a telephone interview with The Tide’s source on Monday, APGA spokesman, Tony Olisa-Mbeki, dismissed Mr Ozigbo’s utterances, insisting he has nothing to offer the people of the state.
Mr Olisa-Mbeki said, “He is a political stooge. What could he possibly bring in? Last I checked, he only managed Transcorp Hotel. Is that a qualification to be a governor in Anambra State? Soludo runs an inclusive government in Anambra; that is why he holds town hall meetings with different sectors. What other approach to governance is Ozigbo talking about?
“Anambra State governance is not for learners like Ozigbo. Ozigbo can’t even give a good lecture; he would be better suited working as a PA to any governor. Ozigbo’s aspirations in the previous gubernatorial contest in Anambra found him trailing in third place under the banner of the PDP, despite the staunch endorsement from former APGA governor, Peter Obi.
“That alone should tell him that APGA is like an apostle’s creed to Ndi Anambra. However, what reforms could Ozigbo propose? Anambra State, under Governor Soludo’s leadership, is a testament to political and socio-economic ingenuity.”
-
News3 days ago
‘God Sent Fubara To Liberate Rivers People’
-
Nation3 days ago
Ebonyi Community Petitions Nwifuru, Police Over Insecurity
-
News1 day ago
US Bans Underaged Children From Having Social Media Accounts
-
News1 day ago
Group Begins Mobilisation For Fubara
-
Business3 days ago
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
-
News3 days ago
Don’t Let Kanu Die In DSS Custody, Family Begs Tinubu
-
Niger Delta3 days ago
Easter: Diri Tasks Bayelsans On Love
-
Sports1 day ago
Ilechukwu Eyes NPFL Title After Win Against Heartland