Alhaji Aminu Dantata, a prominent northern elder statesman, has responded to a recent call for Nigeria to transition from a presidential system of government to a parliamentary one. Sixty lawmakers in the House of Representatives have moved for a constitutional amendment to change the country’s system of government.
Dantata has praised the parliamentary system, stating that it is more cost-effective and less cumbersome than the current presidential system. He made this statement when some members of the House of Representatives, who are spearheading the transition, visited him at his Kano residence. The nonagenarian, who was a member of parliament in the First Republic, expressed his hope that the 60 lawmakers would get more members in the National Assembly to support the project.
Dantata prayed that the current security challenges in the country would come to an end. In an interview with journalists after the visit, the leader of the delegation, Kingsley Chinda, who is also the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, said that all the members who sponsored the Bill on Nigeria’s return to the parliamentary system remain committed and sincere in carrying out the project.
Chinda pointed out that accountability could be better under a parliamentary system than the current system. He said that if Nigeria were operating a parliamentary system, with the number of motions and bills that have passed on the floor of the house concerning the issue of insecurity, the Prime Minister would have been asked to vacate his seat. This would make everyone sit up and take notice. Resolutions of the National Assembly could be taken more seriously if Nigeria changed to a parliamentary system.