71 Reps sponsor Bill to change Nigeria from Presidential system to Parliamentary

A total of 71 out of the 360 members of the House of Representatives have sponsored a bill to return the country to the parliamentary system of government.

The bill, which is now before the lower chamber, was presented at plenary on Thursday.

It enjoined sponsors drawn from across different political parties.

Giving reason for the move, some of the lawmakers who spoke to journalists said the current presidential system of government had led to an over-bloated government.

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They argued that the parliamentary system, when adopted, would lead to the delivery of more dividends of democracy.

Nigeria used the parliamentary system of government until the January 1966 coup d’etat initiated by Nigerian military officers.

Nnamdi Azikwe was the President while Tafewa Balewa was the prime minister, becoming the only prime minister in the nation’s history.

With a parliamentary system of government, the prime minister becomes the head of government while the President is the head of state.

By Babatunde Alao….

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