Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has cautioned against comments and utterances that may truncate Nigeria’s democracy, following complaints and criticism trailing last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.
The Speaker while welcoming his colleagues back to the House plenary after the elections on Tuesday, noted that despite the disappointment individuals and political parties may felt regarding the elections, Nigerians must resolve to reject partisan considerations and ensure that the country’s imperfect democracy survives.
He explained that elections in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-party democracy too often devolve into faultlines, generating abundant conflict and controversy.
He, however, said that the test of an advanced democracy is the ability to manage grievances and settle disagreements without causing fatal damage to the body polity.
“We must avoid actions or utterances that set the stage for interventions that could be fatal to our democracy and the gains we have made over the last two decades.
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“This is the time, despite whatever disappointments we may each feel, to reject considerations of partisan and other interests to come together and make sure first that our country survives and our imperfect democracy continues its march towards progress and a more perfect union,” he said.
According to the speaker, this was the time for political, social, religious, and economic leaders across the nation to work steadfastly together towards the ends of law and due process.
“I am confident we will rise above the worst expectations others may have of us in this defining this moment. We will resist malign actors seeking to exploit this moment of tension for their own ends.
“We will defeat the cynicism of those waiting to see their worst predictions for our country become real. Nigeria will be at peace because we will work through the law and due process to resolve differences, settle disputes and ensure the peaceful transition of power,” he assured.
The speaker insisted that the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022 that govern elections in Nigeria both define a framework of post-election dispute resolution and adjudication.
“This framework exists to protect the integrity of our elections. It ensures that when elections fail to meet expectations, contested issues of facts and law can be resolved through a due process within a legal framework befitting a constitutional democracy. It is not in the interests of our country, now or ever, to advocate for or embrace extralegal interventions to resolve electoral disputes and address grievances,” he added.
Meanwhile, the speaker has directed chairmen of various standing committees of the House to begin the process of preparing handover notes. This, according to him was part of reforms to build institutional memory and ensure continuity in governance.
“In the meantime, the work of governance continues here in the House of Representatives even as we count down to the end of our term in the 9th assembly. We will also begin to prepare transition notes at the Committee levels, as earlier proposed, as part of our reforms to build institutional memory and ensure continuity in governance.
“And we will continue reviewing legislative actions, interventions, successes, and failures relating to the implementation of the 9th House of Representatives legislative agenda, which we began in January. As I said then, this is the basis of our report card to the Nigerian people at the end of our term. But just as importantly, it will allow us to better understand where we succeeded and where we didn’t as a guide for the future,” Gbajabiamila stated.
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