Ogene: Defections part of democratic process
Defection from one political party to another is not a new thing in a democratic setting like Nigeria, deputy chairman of the House of Representatives committee on media and publicity, Rep Victor Ogene, has said.
Ogene (APGA, Anambra) was speaking at the 11th Daily Trust Annual Dialogue in Abuja yesterday, where he represented Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
He said while some state governors and lawmakers had defected to other political parties in the past and nothing was done, the present cases of defection should not create any tensed political atmosphere.
Ogene, who was reacting to issues being raised after 37 PDP members in the House defected to the APC, described as unfortunate calls by some people that Tambuwal should declare the lawmakers’ seats vacant.
“All of us here know that some governors defected from one political party to another in the past, but nothing happened then. But this time around it becomes an issue. Some people couldn’t differentiate between the House and the Speaker; he only acts according to our rules,” he said.
Commenting on the Daily Trust Dialogue, he said such platform would not only afford Nigerians the opportunity to discuss some of the challenges facing the country but to also find solutions to them.
Ogene said the culture of impunity is a cankerworm that every Nigerian must work to eliminate.
Giving his personal experience during the 2011 elections, Ogene said he came face to face with impunity when after winning his election, a candidate of a political party that came distant third took him to tribunal.
On the 100-page response by finance minister to the House finance committee’s 50 questions on the state of Nigeria’s economy last year, Ogene said although he was yet to fully digest its content, her response would form the basis for the consideration of the 2014 budget.
“All that the committee did was to ask her 50 questions on the state of the economy in 2013 on behalf of the House. But I believe she would have used two pages of her response to answer a question, but we’re still waiting for her, because that will form the basis for considering the 2014 budget,” he said.
A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 11TH DAILY TRUST ANNUAL DIALOGUE HELD AT TRANSCORP HILTON HOTEL, ABUJA, ON THURSDAY, JANUARY
16, 2013
The 11th Annual Daily Trust Dialogue was held on Thursday, January 16, 2014. The theme of the dialogue was “Incumbency and Impunity in Politics: Safeguarding Our Democracy Beyond 2015.” Under the Chairmanship of a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Alfa Modibbo Belgore, there were three main speakers in the persons of Dr Jibrin Ibrahim, the Director of Centre for Democracy & Development, Ms Ayo Obe, formerly of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) and Mr Festus Okoye of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG). Apart from the papers delivered by these speakers, the Special Guest of Honour, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, and the Chairman of Media Trust Limited, Malam Kabiru Yusuf, made vital remarks in which they explored historical and contemporary issues related to impunity in politics and leadership in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
Beneath is the communiqué which emerged from the dialogue:
1. Impunity, defined as the nonpunishment of those who contravene laid down rules and regulations, occurs in societies where the law is weak and the administration of justice is slow. This is prevalent in Nigeria, creating fears that the march to the 2015 general elections may not be peaceful after all.
2. Impunity is totally in contravention of the principle of the Rule of Law. Therefore, in a society where there is impunity democracy will be endangered. In Nigeria, the political system always favours incumbent leaders. Despite this, sitting leaders contravene the law and escape with it because they consider the state as their own inheritance.
3. In Durban, South Africa in 2002, African leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding on peace and stability, to the effect that no African leader should stay in power for more than 10 years. However, few years after signing the agreement several African leaders in Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) etc contravened this agreement and attempted to tamper with the constitutions of their countries to legalise their quest to stay in power longer than stipulated. This is shows how brazenly African leaders engage in acts of impunity.
4. Incumbent leaders use state institutions to harass and eliminate opposition elements and steal government resources in order to prosecute their ambition. Unfortunately, they usually get away with it because of Africa’s weak judicial system.
5. References were made to the attacks on politicians and their associates in several states, suspected to have been carried out by elements linked to the centre. The police have not done enough to investigate and bring to book those