Peter Obi Explains Why Nigeria Should Shift From Presidential System Of Governance To Parliamentary System

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, has outlined the reasons why Nigeria must switch back to a parliamentary form of government.

Obi contends that Nigeria requires a parliamentary form of government in which the president can address the people at least once a month.

He said; “What happens is, because of the presidential system that has no president in Nigeria today, we have a bad leader and he stays there for four years. When we have a parliamentary system, we can move a motion of no confidence within two or three years” Obi said at a lecture at Harvard Law School in Boston, Massachusetts, USA on Tuesday, April 16.

“If we are in a parliamentary system, a president will be a member of parliament.

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“Today, if you elect me as president of Nigeria or governor, I can remove myself entirely from being answerable to the people, just hire a gang of lunatics, talking rubbish every day.

“While, if it is a parliamentary system, during the president’s question time, he has to answer. He doesn’t have to hire anybody to speak for him.

“A president in Nigeria can decide not to talk to anybody for one year and nobody cares because he has hired all these people who do the talking. If you say anything, they call you names, they do this.

“So, we need a parliamentary system where the president will be a member of parliament and will at least, even if it is once a month, answer the people who elected him; because we didn’t elect all these gangsters. We elected somebody and we want the person to talk to us.”

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli