Utomi: Parliamentary Democracy Will Reduce Cost of Governance, Stop Political Tyrants

Still unrelenting from his quest for the return to parliamentary democracy, political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, has said the return of Nigeria to parliamentary democracy would help reduce cost of governance and also bring to an end elections of politicians who are tyrants into public office.

Utomi, who stated this in an interview with one of the national television stations, said, “A parliamentary form of government is clearly so much more cost-effective for a democracy than a presidential type of system where you have to run around the entire country.”

He explained that in a parliamentary democracy political leaders who have tendencies of becoming political tyrants would be stopped by the system as the essence of a parliamentary system of government would eliminate them in the process.

According to him, people connect more with the parliamentary system of government than “detached ministers whom somebody brings from nowhere.”

Already in the National Assembly there is a bill seeking a return to the parliamentary system of government.

The bill titled, ‘The Bills Proposing Constitutional Alterations for Transition to Parliamentary System of Government,’ was sponsored by the House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, and 59 others.

Although the bill was read on the floor of the House during plenary, it has not progressed since the first reading six weeks ago.

Speaking on the proposed legislation, Utomi said something had fundamentally gone wrong with the leadership philosophy in Nigeria with selfish leaders serving themselves through living opulent lifestyles rather than serving the people.