Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim

Elder statesman, Alhaji Aminu Dantata has thrown his weight behind the move to transition from a presidential system of government to a parliamentary system.

KANO FOCUS reports that Dantata, made the endorsement on Thursday when some members of the House of Representatives spearheading the transition move paid him a consultation visit at his Kano residence.

According to the parliamentary system is better than the presidential system of government because it is cheaper.

Alhaji Aminu Dantata

The elder statesman explained that the “Parliamentary system is better and cheaper for Nigeria but the presidential system is very costly, especially with the current economic situation in the country.”

Dantata, a member of parliament in the First Republic, lauded the members for taking the bold step and expressed hope that the 60 lawmakers would get more members in the National Assembly to support the project.

“I hope and pray that you will get more members in the assembly to support the project,” he said.

Alhaji Aminu Dantata

He prayed that the current security challenges bedeviling the country would come to an end.

In an interview with journalists shortly after the courtesy visit, the leader of the delegation and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, said all the members who sponsored the Bill on Nigeria’s return to the parliamentary system remain committed in addition to being sincere in carrying out the project.

“There is no magic that the President and his team can work to cut down drastically this cost. Even where we say we are foregoing all our allowances, you will find out it is just a drop in the ocean. So we need to do something drastic…”

Members of House of Representatives with Alhaji Aminu Dantata

Mr. Chinda pointed out that accountability could be better under a parliamentary system than what is obtained today.

“I can tell you that, if we are operating a parliamentary system, with the number of motions and bills that have passed on the floor of the house concerning the issue of insecurity, the Prime Minister would have been asked to vacate his seat and that would have happened. And that would make everybody to sit up. Resolutions of the National Assembly sometimes are not taken very seriously, without blaming anybody, but because of the nature of the system that we practice,” he stated.

Providing further clarifications, the minority leader said, “we are proposing that the time has come for us to work outside the box and take that leap and reintroduce a parliamentary system of government in this country that will help us begin to solve a lot of the problems that we have in Nigeria.”

Chinda reiterated that the return of Nigeria to a parliamentary system was in the best interest of Nigerians and the country.

He thanked the elder stateman for his advice and input, adding that they will continue to draw from his wealth of experience.

Recall that the House of Representatives has passed, for the first reading, the bill seeking to transform the presidential system of government into a parliamentary system.

Titled ”The Bills proposing constitutional alterations for a transition to a parliamentary system of government,” it was sponsored by sixty lawmakers and read for the first time during Wednesday’s plenary in Abuja.

Briefing newsmen after plenary, the spokesperson of the sixty-member group, Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki (Sokoto, PDP), said that the proposed alterations, when passed, would significantly impact the national political landscape.

According to him, over the years, the imperfections of the Presidential System of Government have become glaring to all, despite several alterations to the constitution to address the shortcomings of a system that has denied the nation the opportunity to attain its full potential.

He said among these imperfections are the high cost of governance, leaving fewer resources for crucial areas like infrastructure, education, and healthcare, and consequently hindering the nation’s development progress, and the excessive powers vested in the members of the executive, who are appointees and not directly accountable to the people.

He further noted that the bills presented seek a return to the system of government adopted by our founders, which made governance accountable, responsible, responsive, and ultimately less expensive.

Dasuki explained that with the presentation of these bills, the House hopes to ignite and provoke a national conversation about the future of the Nigerian governance system, to ensure robust public debates, stakeholder consultations, expert analyses, and a thorough and informed decision-making process, to raise awareness about the significant development and to encourage constructive dialogue on the potential implications of these proposed constitutional alterations.

“Today, we stand on the cusp of history, as lawmakers across party affiliations and regional backgrounds come together to present bills proposing Constitutional Alterations that seek a transition to Parliamentary System of Government.

“These bills, seeking to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, advocate a transition from the current presidential system to a parliamentary system at all levels – federal, state, and local government.”