Nigeria fighting for survival — Gbajabiamila

The speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, says Nigeria is in a fight for survival and the continuation of the Nigerian project.

He said this in Abuja yesterday at the inauguration of the Special Committee on the Review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

He said recent global developments had exposed all Nigeria’s systemic weaknesses.

“The reality of our current circumstances, and the now certain knowledge that only us can save ourselves imposes on us an obligation to act with greater determination and all the urgency this moment calls for,” he said.

“Every election

season exposes significant gaps in the process that if left unaddressed, threaten our democracy. Electoral reforms are not a party-political issue, they’re a matter of loyalty to an ideal greater than the party to which one belongs to, or the personal ambitions we may each hold.

“Electoral reforms are a matter of our nation’s future, and the process of setting out systems and protocols for managing how we choose our leaders and representatives begins with the Constitution. We must keep this in mind as we begin this process.”

The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said constitution amendment is a wider responsibility, not an exclusive preserve of the legislature “as the executive, the national and state levels also play an indispensable role in the process,” he said.

Osinbajo, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, urged the committee not to discountenance any constitutional alteration proposal, no matter how idealistic, but to look at ways to galvanize them to improve the economy, create jobs, guarantee our safety and security and abolish corruption.