Victoria Benedict
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the 2023 general elections are the “most competitive and most hard-fought” race in the history of Nigeria’s democracy.
Disclosing this while addressing retuning and newly elected members of the 10th National Assembly during the beginning of their induction programme on Monday night in Abuja,
Gbajabiamila said: “By any measure, the 2023 general elections are the most hard-fought and competitive ever since the return to democratic rule in 1999. In this election, assumptions about electoral performance based on historical antecedents proved nought. Rooted political parties and interests were dislodged in places where such had proved impossible for two decades. Persons who had never aspired to political office or whose previous aspirations had failed, succeeded this time.
“From state House s across the country to the National Assembly, thousands of old hands have been displaced by new ones and the history of the states and, indeed, our national politics have been rewritten. We are in a new age of Nigerian democracy. The Nigerian people have awakened to the enormous power of their votes. They are determined, like never before, to exercise that power to choose political leaders and representatives who speak to their best aspirations and offer the best possibilities for achieving those aspirations.”
Gbajabiamila reminded the new and incoming legislators to push events of the elections aside and embrace the task of providing leadership for the people who have elected them through their activities in the Parliament.
According to the Speaker: “This election ended the days when membership of a particular political party conferred on an officeholder a virtually automatic guarantee of reelection. Going forward, all of us will have to justify the offices we hold by the quality of our endeavours in that office. For those of us in the Legislature, this means that the quality of our law-making and advocacy, the excellence of our constituency services, the thoroughness of our oversight activities and the substance of our discourse in the chamber must be unimpeachable.
“It is in recognition of this reality that the National Assembly leadership, in collaboration with the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and other partners, has organised this training and induction programme to ensure that newly-elected representatives are prepared from day-one to do the work Nigerians expect, and to do it well. I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to lay a worthy foundation for your Legislative activities over the next four years.”
Gbajabiamila, who however, admonished his colleagues to see the legacy of the 9th Assembly as a perfect stepping stone toward building a prosperous nation, in that the importance of having a peaceful and harmonious working relationship with the Executive branch should be prioritized, said: “Additionally, you have a crucial responsibility of building an effective operational relationship with the Executive arm. Your responsibility for overseeing Executive actions is not an invitation to conflict for its own sake. The Legislative functions and obligations are not in conflict or competition with Executive authorities and competencies. They are designed to exist side by side in a complementary governing partnership.”
“Where there are disagreements, and there will be, let your decisions be guided by wisdom rather than ego. Understand that while conflict may get you coverage on the front of newspaper pages and put you in the news studios for interviews, it ultimately leaves you unable to account for any substantive achievement on behalf of the voters who elected you and depend on you to make the challenging and complex choices required to ensure that government works in the best interests of all the Nigerian people.,” he cautioned.
He noted that while Nigeria’s democratic experience may still be young, it has, however, come a long way since 1999, though not quite at a level that’s comparable to those of other climes, stressing that leaders must accelerate efforts toward justifying the choice of democracy as a system of governance by providing effective leadership for the people.
“Our democratic experience is still very young compared to others across the world and even here in Africa. We have come a long way since 1999, but we are still not where we can be or where the Nigerian people rightly expect us to be. Consequently, we are beginning to see a ‘crisis of democracy’. Too many Nigerians, many born in the years after military rule, are beginning to wonder aloud if democracy is the right choice after all. This dire development imposes on all of us political leaders an urgent obligation to accelerate the democratic dividends for all our nation’s people or risk the total loss of legitimacy that can only lead to bad outcomes.
“For our democracy to meet the legitimate expectations of the Nigerian people, the institutions of government have to become better than they are. They must become more efficient and more effective, better at managing scarce resources, more accountable and transparent to the Nigerian people. This applies to all government institutions – those established by the Constitution, such as the National Assembly, and those created by statute and Executive order. This imposes a dual obligation on the National Assembly, first to reform ourselves, then to reform the rest of government,” he added.
He also outlined some of the achievements of the outgoing Assembly, particularly the constitutional reform exercise, saying that it remains a fundamental part of the legacy of the 9th Assembly.
“The constitutional reforms enacted in the 9th National Assembly may well be the most fundamental part of the legacy we leave behind. And because government is a continuum, we have a joint responsibility to continue that effort in the 10th National Assembly. Sixteen constitutional amendment Bills have been ratified and assented to.
“These amendments include alterations to the Exclusive and Concurrent list aimed at improving public infrastructure and speeding up the pace of investments and development across different sectors of the economy. The 2023 alteration to the 1999 Constitution and also the autonomy of the Legislature and the Judiciary at the state level. This is a long-desired achievement that will reinforce our developing democracy.
“Distinguished and honourable colleagues, I have recounted some of these developments of the last four years to highlight three basic facts; the first is that no matter how much work you do in government, there is still much left to do. Second, the 9th House of Representatives and the National Assembly have been unusually innovative and substantive.
“This places a heavy obligation on successor Parliaments to be better and to do more. Thirdly, you will note that all the highlighted achievements have been achieved on a bipartisan basis through the efforts of legislators working together despite their membership in different political parties. As you enter the 10th Assembly, I urge you to remember that nothing of consequence is achieved by individual effort alone in Parliament.”
