Politics
Still On Clamour For Unicameral N’Assemly
Although the heavy cost of maintaining Nigeria’s 469 federal lawmakers has always been a source of concern, “sitting politicians’’ have joined in the campaign for the reduction of the number of federal legislators.
In fact, one of the converts even suggested the scrapping of the Senate, as according to him, it is the House of Representatives that represents.
The converts: Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti; Sen. Rochas Okorocha, former governor of Imo and Chief Osita Chidoka, former Minister of Aviation, made their suggestions at different fora.
Chidoka who advocates for a unicameral legislature, made the suggestion after President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2020 budget.
“In Nigeria, we need a unicameral legislature with six members each from the 36 states and two members from FCT.
“The legislature with 218 members will be less than 50 per cent of current members and term limit of three terms.
“The 2020 budget for the National Assembly (NASS) is N125bn, higher than the combined budget of Education N48 billion (excluding UBEC and TETFUND), Health N46 billion and Social Investment N30 billion.
“Reducing National Assembly members by half will provide over N60 billion annually for the social sector, that will be 600 billion over 10 years.”
Chidoka said the new National Assembly would be both efficient and economical.
He described the budget of N125 billion for the National Assembly as “hugely extravagant,” in an economy adjudged to have over 100 million poor people with gross infrastructure deficit.
The former Minister of Aviation said that funds saved from the contraction would be available for investment on policies and projects that would serve the common interest of the greater number of the population.
On his part, Fayemi advocated for the scrapping of the Senate in order to save cost and reduce financial burden on the government.
He also advocated for the adoption of Stephen Orosaye’s report which recommended the merging of federal government’s agencies that perform similar functions.
Fayemi said the type of legislative system that would be more productive for Nigeria in this current economic situation is a unicameral legislature.
“As it stands, the country’s legislative arm consisting of 109 Senate members and a 360-member House of Representatives, on yearly basis gulps millions of Naira.
“We do need to look at the size of government in Nigeria, and I am an advocate for a unicameral legislature.
“What we really need is the House of Representatives because that is what represents.
“You have three senators from little Ekiti and you have three senators from Lagos State, I guess the principle is not proportionality, but that if you are a state, you get it automatically.
“But I think that we can do away with that. There are several things that we can do away within the government,” he said.
Okorocha, the immediate past governor of Imo, now the Senator representing Imo West, on his part called for the reduction in the number of federal lawmakers representing a state.
He suggested that a Senator and three members of House of Representatives should represent each state.
“I want one senator and three House of Representatives members per state, which will cut expenses.
“A Senator and three House of Representatives members can do what many have been doing.’’
He said that the reduction in the number of representatives from the states would help cut cost and ensure effective representation.
While advocating for ways to cut cost and ensure effective representation, Okorocha said he would sponsor a bill that would seek for the reduction of the number of Senators and House of Representatives members for each state.
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), has endorsed the suggestions for the reduction of the number of federal lawmakers.
The CNPP via a statement from its Secretary-General, Willy Ezugwu, said Okorocha spoke the truth concerning the need to reduce cost of running the National Assembly.
“The former governor simply told Nigerians the truth when he said what three Senators from a state can do; one lawmaker is capable of handling the same.
“Like Sen. Okorocha asked, what is too sacrosanct that Senators and House of Representatives members are doing that only a Senator per state can not do?’’
Also, two professors of political science at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Jonah Onuoha and Aloysius Okolie, agreed with the advocates for unicameral legislature, which they reiterated would reduce the cost of governance.
Onuoha, who is the Head, Department of Political Science, said bicameral legislative system is not cost effective, especially in a country like Nigeria, where federal lawmakers receive bogus salaries and allowances.
“It takes huge amount of money to maintain bicameral legislative system, especially in a country like Nigeria where federal lawmakers receive bogus salaries and allowances monthly.
“Bicameral legislative system is not only costly but delays legislative processes of passing bill into law, since the bill will pass through the two chambers.’’
Onuoha, who is also the Director of American Studies in UNN, urged the country to adopt unicameral legislative system as it is cost effective.
“If the country settles for unicameral, the extra money it could have spent in paying salaries, allowances and maintaining the two chambers which runs into billions can be used to carry out capital projects,” he said.
He said if the country insisted on running bicameral legislative system, the number of lawmakers should be reduced.
Okolie in his contribution said that it was as result of bicameral legislative system that every year the budgetary allocation to the National Assembly had remained the highest.
“I subscribe to opinions in some quarters that the country should adopt unicameral legislative system as it will reduce the cost of running government as well as quicken legislative processes.
“The country is spending much to pay salaries, allowances and maintaining the two chambers — 109 Senators and 360-members of House of Representatives,’’ he said.
Okolie, former Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, UNN branch, also said that as part of measures to reduce cost of running the government, the country should return to the regional structure.
“If we have one federal parliament and one regional parliament in each of the six geo-political zones, it will go a long way in cutting down cost of running the government,” Okolie said.
However, a legal practitioner, Mr Dele Igbinedion, said that people should not clamour for unicameral legislature just for cutting cost, adding that the issue is not whether or not a bicameral legislature is good or bad.
“I believe the bicameral system should remain because it has been proven to be sustainable and necessary. The process of law making is a very serious business which cannot start and end within a short time.
“The problem with the unicameral system which we have at the state level is that a bill can be introduced and passed the same day and sent to the governor for assent.
“This is not the case in the National Assembly; the two chambers must meet and possibly form a joint committee to look at the bill before sending it for presidential assent.
“The rigorous process a piece of legislation has to pass through forms part of the beauty of democracy.
“I think Nigerians should stop looking at the legislature each time there is a slight challenge and asking if we really need that arm of government.
“The judiciary often doesn’t respond to executive excesses, except there is a case it initiates, but in the legislature, a member can raise it as a matter of urgent public importance, national importance or ethics and privileges, and the attention of the parliament can be brought to it.’’
Apparently, Igbinedion was surmising that many state assemblies have become rubber stamps because the governors could easily “conquer’’ them, because it is only a single chamber.
Stakeholders say that unicameral and bicameral legislature have their advantages, but the country should settle for an option that cuts costs and wastages.
Ukoh writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Obike Ukoh
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday brushed aside the order of the Court of Appeal in Abuja which ordered him to stay proceedings in a suit that sought deregistration of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Accord Party and three others.
The Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision of a panel of three Justices had on May 22, 2026 directed the Federal High Court Judge not to proceed with the suit until an appeal pending before them and filed by Accord Party is resolved.
In a Certified True Copy Enrol Order of the Superior Court, Justices Mohammed Danjuma, Adebukola Banjoko and Oyejoju Oyewumi asked the lower Court Judge to stay proceedings until all issues on the appeal filed by the Accord Party were resolved
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State had, through the Accord Party, applied to justice Lifu to join him as a defendant in the deregistration legal battle instituted by a group of former legislators.
The contention of the Osun State governor was that he had a stake in the Accord Party, being the platform he was seeking re-election in the August 15 gubernatorial poll in the state.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu on April 27 ruled against the Osun State governor, rejecting his request to be joined in the suit to defend his own position and interest.
Not satisfied with the Federal High Court decision, the Osun State governor, through his lawyer, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), moved to the Court of Appeal in Abuja where he challenged the Justice Lifu decision to refuse to allow him join the suit.
After listening to the argument canvassed, especially that he has interest to protect as Accord Party gubernatorial candidate for Osun State governorship election, the three Justices of the Court of Appeal, unanimously directed Justice Lifu to allow them look into the grievances of the governor.
In specific terms, the Court of Appeal Justices directed Justice Lifu not to proceed further with the matter and fixed October 27 to determine the interlocutory appeal of the appellant.
However, when the certified enroll order and notice of appeal were served on Justice Peter Lifu by Mr Adetunbi (SAN), the judge rejected it on the ground that it was a ploy to arrest his judgment in the matter.
Although the judge had adjourned his judgment delivery in the matter indefinitely, he finally made a dramatic turn around on Monday and proceeded to deliver the judgment that has now proscribed the five political parties.
Actor turned politician, Mr Kenneth Okonkwo, has rejected the choice of former Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, as the running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a statement on Monday, Mallam Bolaji Abdulllahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, announced the party’s choice of Mr Amaechi.
However in a statement, Mr Okonkwo said that the choice of Mr Amaechi from the South South strengthens the continued marginalization of people from the South East.
According to the former spokesperson of the Labour Party, any arrangement that would not factor a person from the South East either as president or vice president in the party is anti-Igbo.
He contended that Chief Raph Nwosu, who founded the ADC in 2005 and willingly surrendered it’s leadership to Senator David Mark did not do so to entrench Igbo marginalization in the party.
The former actor said: “I heard from the social media that ADC has picked its vice presidential candidate from the South-South. If this is true, it is unfortunate, as this will continue the crude marginalisation of the South-East.
“This geo-political zone has neither produced a president or vice president since 1999. To deny the South-East the opportunity to produce the president or vice president in the ADC in 2027, will amount to perpetuating the marginalisation.
“The ADC was founded by Ralphs Nwosu from the South-East in 2005. He made the sacrifice to give up the party in 2025 for the coalition to usher in a better Nigeria. He couldn’t have made that sacrifice to marginalise his own people.
“I did not join the coalition to assist in marginalisation of my own people further. I am of the opinion that if we made a sacrifice to give up the national chairman and the president, it will amount to unpardonable injustice to deny us the vice president in 2027.
“I joined politics to fight for a better Nigeria where no region, geo-political zone, or person will be marginalised.
“The only favour I asked Atiku Abubakar, who openly declared that he is the pathway to the presidency of the South-East, is to show it by choosing someone from the South-East to be his vice.
“If it is confirmed that he has chosen a candidate from the South-South, I wish him well. I am not favourably disposed to campaigning for any presidential ticket that does not have a person of South-East origin as president or vice in 2027”
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, on Monday said that the numerous projects being executed by President Bola Tinubu across the states in the southeast will give him upper hand over other presidential candidates during next year’s general elections.
Prof. Yilwatda stated this at the Abakaliki Township Stadium during a mega rally organized by the Ebonyi State government and Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, during which President Tinubu and other APC candidates for the 2027 general elections were adopted.
According to the APC National Chairman, no President had done for the southeast region what President Tinubu has done for them and expressed the confidence that the president would not only win in Ebonyi State but in the entire South East.
Prof. Yilwatda also used the occasion to address growing insinuations in some quarters that Ebonyi State had been conceded to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Dismissing the claim, Prof. Yilwatda said the state would not allow the PDP to win any position in the forthcoming general election.
“We will return President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Francis Nwifuru as Governor of Ebonyi State in 2027.
“We want to return all APC senators, members of the House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates in 2027.
“Nobody has conceded Ebonyi to the PDP. Therefore, there is no vacancy in Ebonyi State. Ebonyi PDP has no place, and there is no vacancy at all in the Government House come 2027,” the APC National Chairman declared.
He commended the people of the state for their support for President Tinubu and urged them to re-elect him in the next presidential election in appreciation of what he has done for the state and the entire South-East through infrastructural transformation and human capital development.
Governor Francis Nwifuru, who also spoke at the event, said the state had no other presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections apart from President Tinubu.
He declared that Ebonyi remained a stronghold of the APC and vowed that the party would deliver the President in the state.
Gov. Nwifuru said President Tinubu had shown exceptional commitment to the state and deserved total support for appointing Senator Umahi as Minister of Works, a role he said Senator Umahi had performed creditably.
“Ebonyi has no other presidential candidate apart from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and we will return him in the presidential election.
“We are standing here today to tell the whole world, especially those using the President’s name to orchestrate division and confusion in this great state, that we have only one party, and that is the APC.
“This statement became necessary because some people are going around claiming they have discussed with Mr President and that he has handed Ebonyi over to the PDP. They are also saying that Chief Nyesom Wike is their leader and that Wike said the President has given Ebonyi to him.
“Ebonyi is not for sale. We are restraining ourselves because the people are with us. Nobody should push us because we have what it takes to confront anyone trying to destabilise us.
“We want to tell Mr President that he has earned our votes. He gave us what we had never had in Eastern Nigeria — the office of the Minister of Works. And this Minister of Works is not sitting idle; he is working,” he stated.
Senator Umahi, in his remarks, said President Tinubu had done what no other President had done for Ebonyi State and the entire South-East by executing numerous projects across the state and the region.
“Ebonyi State is a one-party state under Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru. We are not going to repeat the mistakes of the past.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done a lot, not just for Ebonyi State but for the entire South-East and other geopolitical zones,” he said.
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