An Italian-based Nigerian, Francis Onabis, has expressed support for Nigeria’s return to the parliamentary system of government to cut the cost of running the presidential system.
Onabis, a politician and businessman, who declared his interest in the 2011 presidential race in Nigeria, hails from Edo State and currently the chief executive officer of Mattia Holdings Limited, a financial and marketing consulting company in Cyprus and Stillwater Limited based in Italy.
In a statement he signed and made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, Onabis said, “The current system of government is too wasteful and full of encumbrances.”
He said, “In a parliamentary system, the president and his cabinet are first members of the parliament” which gives them first-hand information about what to implement at the executive level.”
Onabis advised states and local governments to include traditional rulers in the running of the affairs of their locality.
He said the average traditional ruler is an important component in checking the security apparatus of any community as they are closer to the grassroots.
He said once traditional rulers are involved in government activities, insecurity will be a thing of the past. He stressed that every ward in the country must be made to have a security database to check those coming newly into a community as well as monitor and continue to assess those that have been captured in the database.
On food security, Onabis urged the government to take urgent steps to save the masses from famine.
“Nigerians are hungry, and the government owes them the responsibility of making the environment safe for them to return to their farms,” he said.
He stressed that Nigeria should live up to her billing as the giant of Africa and take charge of the welfare of her citizens.
