Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has joined the league of those advocating for a parliamentary system of government for Nigeria.
The governor stated this yesterday while inaugurating the committee to prepare Benue State submission to the National Assembly Committee for the review of the 1999 constitution.
He noted that the system will provide opportunities for power-sharing just as he said it was cost-effective.
According to him, the parliamentary system will allow smaller parties to participate in governance to the extent.of their electoral performance.
He argued that the system is also, more accountable since it provides for a regular interface between the leaders of the executive and the representatives of the people as well as being considered less complex.
He lamented the current practice in which the Federal Government has constitutional powers in nearly 100 per cent performance, while states and local government areas could only function in 30 per cent or less in what he described “distortion federalism’.
“We need a constitution to set out a system where the various tiers of government can simultaneously engage in the types of relationship that are common to all functional Federalism by specifying the areas in which the tiers have the autonomy, areas in which they need to cooperate, areas where the relationship is supervisory and areas where power is shared.
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“To further strengthen the Rule of Law and promote accountability, we need to separate the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation from that of the Hon. Minister of Justice. Also, separate the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation from that of the Accountant – General of the Federal Government (and similarly for the office of the Auditor-General).
“We need to establish a Constitutional Court to support the Supreme Court in settling disputes between the levels of Government as a court of first and last resort
” Furthermore, we will.need an Inter-Governmental Relations Council with a mandate to undertake the task set above”, Ortom suggested.
The governor, however, advised the committee to approach the assignment with all the diligence, sensitivity and tact that it deserves.
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