Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Former governor of Edo State, Senator Oserheimen Osunbor, has said that the nation is better off with a bicameral legislature other than a unicameral legislature.
Osunbor spoke during the first Senator E.A. Lamai Memorial Lecture in Abuja with the theme ‘Nigerian Senate and the Quest for Nation Building: 1st-4th Republic’.
Lamai, a First Republic Senator from Fugar, Etsako Central Local Government Area, Edo State, passed away on May 14, 2009.
The event organised by the Senator Ekpemoriri Akhagbemhe
Lamai Foundation, had in attendance, former Chief of Staff to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe; former Governor of Edo State and Senator-elect, Edo North Senatorial District, Adams Oshiomhole; former Governor of Imo State and senator representing Imo West Senatorial District, Senator Rochas Okorocha; and former Minister of Works and Housing and former Senator representing Borno North, Senator Sanusi Daggash.
Also in attendance were the senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Senator Francis Alimhikhena; a former Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Senator Victor Oyofo, former Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Federal Capital Territory Administration, Sir Peter Aliu, amongst others.
Osunbor said that the Senate, being part of the legislative arm of government, has the distinct feature of being the arm of government that is closest to the people.
He added that the constituents, the public, have easy access to their senators than they would have to their governor or even the president or vice president or deputy governor.
“So, the senators are more accessible to the people. They are closer to the people, more accountable to the people. And as the professor has said, the senators represent a bastion of democracy. They are the engine room, the think-tank of democracy.
“And it is good because the legislature, perhaps, is the first amongst the three arms of government because for the executive to function, there must be laws that are passed by the legislative arm of government and of course, the judiciary interprets laws that are made by the legislative arm, of course, in addition to the constitutional provisions which are not exclusive to the Senate.
“The importance of the Senate, as he said, the legislature and by extension, the Senate which is an important arm of the legislature, is that it serves as checks and balance over the executive arm of government. And this is very important.
“It is very important, particularly in a country like Nigeria, to have a Senate as against just having a House of Representatives. I make this point because many Nigerians express the view that the Senate is unnecessary, that we need a unicameral system of only the House of Representatives. Part of their reason is that it will save cost and the chairman of the occasion alluded to this fact in his address that we need to save cost. But I differ for a number of reasons from this view.
“First , how much really is the budget of the National Assembly in comparison to the budget of the federal government? I understand that it is only about 2.5 per cent of the total budget. So, even if you consider it, 2.5 per cent of the national budget really is not a reason that we are having the problems of the magnitude that we are having in Nigeria.
“The point I am making, in short, is that the Senate is very important in the sense that even in the constituencies, it gives opportunities for communities and the constituent units of the senatorial districts, the states, and even the country to have a fair chance of representation.”
On his part, Okorocha said it was better to restructure the Senate than embrace a unicameral system of legislature.
“As a former governor and as a sitting senator, I have gone through the executive and I have gone through the legislature and I can tell you that one, if Nigeria must have a Senate, the entire structure of the Senate must change,” Okorocha said.
Okorocha further said the Senate and the Executive were too heavy for Nigeria, which was why he objected to the population of the Senate two weeks upon resumption at the National Assembly.
Speaking with journalists, Oshiomhole said Nigeria had huge economic crisis, with huge debt burden, huge numbers of expectations, huge numbers of unemployed, and it was the duty of senators to mirror the reality of life in their various constituents and allow the realities to inform their attitudes and policy choices that will be available.
In his opening remarks, Oyofo said Nigeria adopted the presidential system copied from America, but does not have the institutions that support the successful running of the presidential experiment.
In his address, the Executive Director, Senator Lamai Foundation, Chief Richard Lamai, said the Senate and other legislative arms were the only distinctive organs differentiating other forms of government.
“As our nation enjoys uninterrupted period of participatory democracy in this 4th Republic, it is apt to analyse the effect of democratically derived legislation and policies by the senate on the development envisioned by the likes of my father, Senator E.A Lamai through this lecture by eminent experts in jurisprudence, constitutional, commercial law, executive and renowned business gurus,” Lamai stated.
Delivering the lecture titled ‘X-raying the Nigerian Senate (1st-4th Republic) as a Tool for Nation Building,’ Chief Mike Ozekhomhe (SAN), said the Nigerian Senate holds a crucial position as the upper chamber of the country’s bicameral legislature, actively shaping the nation’s political landscape and policy framework.
“Throughout Nigeria’s history, from its first Republic to the present day, the Senate has served as a significant platform for national deliberation, legislation, and representation,” Ozekhomhe said.
