Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has described democracy as the best means of ensuring sustainable development to meet the needs and interests of the people at all levels.
Abbas said this at the 2023 Democracy Day Lecture organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in Abuja yesterday.
Represented by the deputy speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, the speaker emphasised the need for political stability to achieve the desired development in the country through attracting foreign investment.
He said: “We must prioritise political stability in the new administration to achieve the desired development and attract sustainable foreign investments.
“Democracy provides the liberal environment necessary for innovation, creativity and growth.
Undeniably, is the best means to ensure sustainable development that meets the needs and interest of our people.”
In his remarks, the director-general of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the lecture with the theme: “Democracy and the State of the Nation: Towards Agenda Setting for the New Administration” was very significant as it offers the opportunity to take stock of the nation’s democratic governance.
Sulaiman said in the political sphere, there had been unabated calls for restructuring of Nigeria’s federal system, as well as other issues bordering on elections and power transition.
He said there have been challenges of poor coordination between monetary and fiscal policies and the need for functional public spending that engenders access to public service in the country.
He said though Nigeria had made steady progress with democratic transition from the first to the fourth republic, lessons from developments in Africa offer Nigeria an opportunity to reflect and commit to entrenching democratic processes.
Delivering a lecture, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, said there is a disconnect between democracy and development in the country, and to change the narrative, there was need to reconnect democracy and development.
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