Parliamentary System Is Best For Nigeria – Aregbesola

A former governor of Osun State and ex-minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has again reiterated calls for Nigeria’s return to the parliamentary system.

He said this at a National Dialogue on Home-Grown Parliamentary System in Abuja on Monday.

Osun Defender recalls that as Governor, Aregbesola introduced the parliamentary system of government at the local government level with the election of only councillors, who elected amongst them, the chairman and other presiding officers at their respective council areas.

According to experts in public finance and governance, the system reduced the cost of governance and electioneering at the local by over 50%, brought the government closer to the people, and empowered councillors to discharge their duties effectively as enshrined in the law setting up the system in the state.

The former Minister, who said he is opposed to the executive system of government currently practised in Nigeria, insisted that the arrangement in the parliamentary system is best suited for a country like Nigeria.

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He said, “If you go on believing that an individual, no matter how beautiful, no matter how good, could have the capacity to govern 220 million people all alone without checks, we are joking. So, by that consideration alone, I am opposed to the executive system of government.

“I believe the collective arrangement that the parliamentary system guarantees is best for a nation like Nigeria if we are committed to advancing the interests of the large population and the masses of our people.”