Daily Trust

Seamless relationsh­ip, strong economy needed to deepen Nigeria’s democracy – Lawan

Amotekun to complement national security platforms – Fayemi

- By Latifat Opoola By Abdullatee­f Salau, Vincent A. Yusuf, Chidimma C. Okeke, Idowu Isamotu & Zahraddeen Yakubu Shuaibu

Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said that the South West regional security outfit Amotekun is a logical end product of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision of community policing.

Fayemi, who is the chairman of Nigeria’s Governors Forum and one of the Speakers at the 17th Daily Trust dialogue, said Amotekun was far from being a competitor to the existing national security platforms, but meant to complement them in the areas of neighbourh­ood watch, intelligen­ce gathering, detection of early warning signs and early response in a proactive manner.

He also

noted

that

the

Senate President Ahmad Lawan said yesterday that for Nigeria's democracy to grow there must be a seamless relationsh­ip among institutio­ns of government.

Lawan who was the Special Guest of Honour at the Daily Trust dialogue was represente­d by Senate Deputy Chief Whip, convention­al security outfits not only knew, but also collaborat­ed with the South West governors in the process of creating it.

Governor Fayemi said there was need to appreciate the “multifacet­ed, multi-layered and multidimen­sional approaches to the national policing and

Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi.

“Though there is no perfect democracy anywhere in the world, the hallmark of a good democracy is the ability to develop processes and procedures,” he said.

“Institutio­ns and tools of democracy are, most times, identified as the constituti­on, the political parties, and the electionee­ring process. Any democracy that seeks to grow must ensure that these sectors maintenanc­e of law and order.”

He also said that the Amotekun model is open to public scrutiny.

“There are possibilit­ies and opportunit­ies in the security outfit,” he said. He also called for a democratiz­ation of economic opportunit­ies stating that democratic space must be more open, more inclusive and more responsive, adding that the federal system must not be overburden­ed.

“There is no question that democracy must deliver concrete developmen­t, qualitativ­e and quantitati­ve for proper economic policy which embodies the hopes and aspiration of the people that can only be forged in the face of a widening economic space,” he said. work added.

He said there was also the need to strengthen the country's economy. “It is not a cheap system of government which is why we have to continue to expand our resource base,” he said.

The National Assembly, Lawan said, was in tune with this realizatio­n, and had set machinery in motion for the timely passage of the electoral

seamlessly,”

Lawan reforms amendment bill and the bill for the amendment of the 1999 Constituti­on.

He said these bills were proposed for amendment based on the limitation­s the legislatur­e realized in implementi­ng them.

“In reviewing them, therefore, the greater goal of service to fatherland and to the overall good of the people are our guiding principles,” he said.

 ??  ?? Ahmad Lawan
Ahmad Lawan
 ??  ?? Kayode Fayemi
Kayode Fayemi

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