Why we’re proposing parliamentary system of government, by lawmaker

A member of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda (PDP-Rivers), says adopting the parliamentary system of government will help to reduce corruption.

Chinda led 71 other lawmakers to sponsor a bill in December 2018 at the House, seeking to revert the county to parliamentary system in December 2018.

According to him, the change is also necessary to address frictions among different arms of government in Nigeria.

He disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday.

The lawmaker said: “If you ask some legislators of government policies, it is difficult for them to clearly understand because the interface between the executive and the legislature is not as it should be.

“The parliamentary system will ensure that the executive, legislature and judiciary are on the same page.”

Cinda added that the system would iron out all these things, hence it is important to discuss the matter to proffer solution to the country’s problems.

He said there was the need to try something else, away from the presidential system, as the cost of governance is too high for the country.

The lawmaker disclosed that in the process of introducing the bill, the sponsors considered the idea of a unicameral legislature, as against the current bicameral system.

He said the sponsors were not condemning the presidential system, neither were they praising parliamentary system, but were looking for a system that best suits Nigeria, given its dynamic nature.

He recalled that Nigeria practised parliamentary system in the past where power was devolved, leading to healthy competition among regions and resulting in great progress.

“What we have proposed in that bill is that the exclusive list should be pruned down so that issues of devolution of power could be taken care of.

“I am from Rivers, why can I not go to Sokoto to do my business when I see myself as a Nigerian. It is because of the constitution and the laws that we have, that people fill forms and indicate tribe,” he said.