The National Assembly has been urged to prioritise the interest of patriotic Nigerians in its process of constitution amendment rather than their own personal interests.
The Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria in a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Coordinator, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, and National Secretary, Dr. Nasir Balogun, said “as the representatives of the people, they must stick to the demand made by the people.”
According to them, “some provisions in the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 as ammended, are inhibiting good governance, pointing to the provision of joint account of States and Local Governments which allowed State and Local Governments to operate one account from the funds released by Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).”
“Most State Governors are controlling the States and Local Governments together, which according to the Group is at variance with the Local Government Autonomy Bill passed by the National Assembly over a year ago….”
The group further maintained that as long as the joint account of Local Government and state is retained in the Constitution, implementation of the Local Autonomy Bill would remain impossible.
They called for holistic approach by the National and State Assembly members across the Federation by abrogating joint account to pave way for good governance at the grassroot level.
On the States’ Independent Electoral Commission [SIEC], the Group commended the National Assembly Members for recommending the scrapping of SIECs across the the Federation to pave way for genuine and credible elections at the Local Governments’ levels pointing out that incredible Local Government Results has been responsible for under-development and poverty being witnessed acrossed the Country; pointing out that the Constitution need be ammended so that INEC could conduct Local Government Elections as from the time the Nation’s Constitution is ammended appropriately.
The Media Group said while it does not object to other items listed for ammendment in the Nigerian Constitution, the two issues raised in this Press Statement are most crucial to the survival of democracy and good governance in Nigeria…
The Group commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his determination to nurture the Nation’s democracy to success and its strenous effort to curb insecurity in all parts of the Federation.
It appealed to Federal Government to ensure that all agreements with United States of America [USA] on assistance to stem the tide of insecurity in Nigeria should cover the six geopolitical zones of the Country rather than a particular section of the Country.
The Group also commended the Governor of Benue State Rev. Father Hycinth Alia for denying the existence of christian genocide in his State, describing him as a patriotic Leader who would never lie to promote any pecuniary interest capable of causing religious conflict.
The Group also commended Professor Wole Soyinka, and a frontline Political Scientist, Professor Kayode Soremekun, as well as other well-meaning Nigerians who criticised the approach of America to the insecurity in Nigeria by falsely accusing the Federal Government uncare attitude to the problem.
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