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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Orderpaper Advocacy Initiative, has tasked Nigerians on the need to elect candidates with an adequate understanding of the functions of the legislature, in the February 25 National Assembly election.
The Executive Director, Orderpaper Advocacy Initiative, Oke Epia, who gave the charge, on Thursday, in Abuja, while presenting the report of a survey by his organisation on Saturday’s parliamentary poll, said a total of 4,223 candidates will be contesting for the 469 National Assembly seats.
Nevertheless, Epia noted that only 0.23 per cent of the candidates have the requisite knowledge of the core functions of the National Assembly, which include lawmaking, representation and oversight of the Executive arm of Government.
According to him, “going by the concept of representative democracy, the legislature is the first and foremost arm of government, and it plays a crucial role in the sustenance of democracy as a tradition for a country’s people.
“Having had a series of military interregnums in politics where the National Assembly gave way for Military Decrees and Edicts, a return to democracy in May 1999 saw the inauguration of the 4th National Assembly, and we have since then had the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and now, 9th National Assemblies.
“It is, therefore, noteworthy to state that this year’s National Assembly is holding on the eve of the 25th Anniversary of the Nigerian National Assembly; at least in the uninterrupted Fourth Republic.
“In each of the six electoral cycles leading to the election of lawmakers who have served in these Assemblies, we have observed as a legislative-focused organisation that many at times, the majority of the lawmakers who have served in the various Assemblies we mentioned earlier, emerge through a bandwagon.
“This trend, to a large extent, sacrifices merit for party considerations, especially as the National Assembly elections hold simultaneously with the highly-anticipated Presidential Elections.
“In no small measure, this has affected the quality of representation in each Assembly and also prevented effective service delivery. This development is what OrderPaper and our partners have considered necessary to address for the future development of parliament.”
