Doyin Okupe, a former director-general of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign council, says the federal government was wrong to have sued states over local government autonomy.
In the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, the federal government is
seeking full autonomy for the country’s 774 LGAs.
The federal government is also asking for an order from the
court preventing the governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically
elected councils.
Speaking on Sunday, Okupe described the suit against the
states as “needless and unfortunate,”
noting that there are only two component units—the federal and the
states—in a true federal system.
“We should run a true
federal system in which there are two bodies coming together for a union: the
federal government and sub-nationalities,” NAN quoted him as saying.
“The local governments are principally and completely issues
of the state; it absolutely has nothing to do with the federal government, and
it (the idea of LG as a third tier) should be expunged from the constitution.
“Let the nation’s money be shared between the federal
government and the states. The federal government asking for local government
autonomy in a federal system is an aberration.
“It is becoming so
sad that we seem not to know what is right and what is wrong in the country.
“Then, the state government can decide to have as many local
governments as it desires for grassroots development and fund it as they like.”
SIX-YEAR SINGLE TERM
FOR PRESIDENT
Okupe also said the proposed single-tenure rotational
presidency is a great idea for a developing country like Nigeria.
A bill seeking a single term of six years for the president
and state governors was brought up recently by 35 members of the house of
representatives.
The lawmakers are also proposing the rotation of the
presidency between the north and the south, as well as the creation of a second
vice-president.
“I don’t think we should do this kind of reform
(constitutional amendment) in a haphazard manner. There is so much that is
wrong with the constitution we are operating,” Okupe said.
“There is so much confusion and contradiction in the 1999
Constitution as prescribed and handed over to us by the military.
“I would rather have
us to have a holistic approach to this reform or amendment.
“The six-year single tenure for the president and governors
is okay in a developing nation like this, and I have no objection to it.
“Yes, it is good we
can have a six-year single-tenure rotational presidency. However, the
rotational part should be clearly stated in the constitution among the six
zones.”
Okupe noted that the national assembly needs to implement
other reforms as well, particularly in the electoral system, rather than merely
reviewing the tenure.
He added that any reform must also address the ambiguity
surrounding Nigeria’s political structure, whether it is a federal or unitary
government.
Okupe stressed that the presidential form of government must
be abandoned in favour of a parliamentary one “where we have a prime minister
that would be elected by his colleagues from the parliament” if the country is
to undergo the reform.
“The prime minister
will run the country under the supervision of the elected president. The role
of the president will be limited and very clear,” he said.
“And if the people are not satisfied with the prime
minister, they can go to the parliament to remove him and put someone else.
“This is a country of over 200 million; a lot of destinies
are involved; there is no need for us to be patching and patching it. If the
constitution is not okay let us attend to it properly.”
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