Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has advocated for a constitutional amendment that allows proportional representation in government as against the present winner-takes-all democratic practice.
According to Fayemi, the present democratic practice where the winner of an election forms a government 100 per cent neglecting the candidate who polled substantial votes in the election should be looked into.
The Ekiti State governor made this call while inaugurating the 7.2kilometres Idi-Ape-Bashorun-Akobo-Odogbo Barracks junction road dualisation project and flyover at General Gas, Ibadan, on Thursday.
He said the current ‘majoritarian’ democracy is unfair with none of the benefits of government accruing to the ‘loser.’
Fayemi said: “As I advised my friends in Kenya when I went for the inauguration of their president, I said you cannot win an election with 50.5 per cent and tell the person who lost the election with 49.5 per cent to go to hell. It is not going to work.
“I hope we will ultimately get to a point in our country in which those who won 49percent will also have a sit at the table in a proportional representation manner to represent that 49percent, while the person who won with 50.5percent is also representing the majority of the people he has received their votes. This majoritarian democracy is not going to work if the winner continues to take all the benefits to the detriment of the ’49 per cent loser.’
“I hope our constitution will be amended to represent that 49 per cent proportion.”
Speaking further, Fayemi lauded Makinde for not abandoning the road started by his predecessor, the late Abiola Ajimobi.
Noting that the road will be plied by people of all political parties, he noted that politicians must rise above party leanings and come together to rally around those in governance.
Speaking at the event, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State disclosed his approval of the sum of N750million for the rehabilitation of some deplorable inner roads across the 33 local government areas of the state.
Speaking, Makinde said the approval for the Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency (OYSROMA) is in appreciation of the deplorable state of inner, feeder roads across the state yawning for attention.
He explained that the state is usually torn between disbursing inadequate funds for payment of salaries cum fixing roads but would usually prioritise payment of salaries.
He said the choice to prioritise payment of salaries had positive impacts on the economy with about N5billion approved for payment of salaries at the local government level and about N7billion at the state government level pumped into the state economy monthly.
On some public notions about the relationship between the state and local government, Makinde faulted notions that his government has hijacked the functions of local government.
Rather, he said the state government is collaborating with local government and assisting them in carrying out their functions.
Makinde said: “We are aware of the state of our roads not just in Ibadan but the whole of Oyo State and as we have promised, governance will continue till the last day of the life of this administration.
“We are already doing something about those inner city roads. Earlier in the week, we gave Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency (OYSROMA) the sum of N750 for the rehabilitation of roads.
“The plan is to ensure that all local government areas get some of their roads fixed. The local government chairmen are here; we are working together. It has nothing to do with local government autonomy.
“Also, there is an issue that keeps coming up in conversations, that the state government has hijacked local government functions. We have not in any way, hijacked the funds of local government. We are only putting in the work needed to assist them in their functions.”
“Sometimes we ask ourselves, should we use the money to pay salaries or build roads because the money is not just enough to do both.
“Here we decided to make that decision easier for our local government areas, we tell them to pay salaries because when those workers take the salaries to the market to pay artisans, you have a multiplier effect on the economy of the state.
“They are paying salaries but at the state level, we are helping them to do other things like waste management which should be a local government issue.
“I sign about N5billion for local government added to about N7billion at the state level; that is N12billion pumped into the Oyo State economy every four weeks.”
In his remarks, the head of Peculiar Ultimate Concerns, Mr Olanrewaju Adeleke, who handled the flyover bridge project, explained that the project coupled with the road will ease travel time from over two hours to about 15 minutes.
The event was attended by several traditional rulers, members of the state cabinet, state Assembly and judiciary, community leaders and dwellers, several candidates, stakeholders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and several others.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Omolola Lipede is the Chief Programme Officer at Kayode Alabi Leadership Initiative (KLCI), the Regional…
At the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) in Effurun, Delta State, fresh matriculants sat in neat…
Good manners or etiquettes include a range of behaviours that promote respect, kindness and consideration…
Nigerian jollof rice is a beloved dish across West Africa, and when infused with a…
The feverish defection of politicians and their supporters from one political party to another, mostly…
Olayemi Ojeokun is a Nigerian US-based scholar, agronomist, and sustainability advocate. In this interview by…
This website uses cookies.