About 71 members of the House of Representatives have sponsored a bill seeking to amend the Nigerian constitution to return Nigeria from Presidential system to parliamentary system of government. The bill was presented at the plenary on Thursday.
Some of the sponsors decried that the current presidential system had led to an over-bloated government and the parliamentary system will deliver more dividends to Nigerians. The sponsors were drawn from across political party lines. Recall that in 2017, Nigeria’s eight Senate voted on 33 major amendments to the Nigerian constitution. They voted to give financial autonomy for local governments. On Tuesday, July 25, the Senate received a 33-item report on the fourth alteration of the constitution. The report which calls for huge changes in the constitution was presented by the deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu.
The lawmakers effort moves for the constitution amendment of the bill seeks for the decentralisation of the Nigeria Police Force to accommodate state police.
Many have argued that the Presidential system of government is expensive and that power is concentrated at the centre, and not divided among the three tiers of Govt.
In 1960, Nigeria practised the Parliamentary system of government.
Nnamdi Azikiwe was the President, while Tafawa Balewa was the first and only Prime minister Nigeria ever had.
But the 1966 coup ended the Parliamentary system of government because the military seized power.
Some commonwealth countries like Australia, Jamaica, Denmark, Sweden and others, practise the Parliamentary system of government.
Britain runs a parliamentary of government and just Wednesday the Prime Minister survived a confidence vote from her Conservative party.
The vote was triggered by the controversial Brexit deal which has got her in the bad books of even her party members.
The Presidential system which is currently being used in Nigeria, where the head of state is also the head of government is also the form of government practised in the US.