Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has called on Nigerians to always hold their leaders accountable to strengthen the nation’s democracy.
Fayemi spoke on Wednesday while delivering a paper at the United States Institute of Peace, Washington DC, United States of America.
A copy of his lecture entitled, ‘Twenty Years of Democracy in Nigeria: Successes and Challenges,’ with the theme ‘Deepening Democratic Governance in Nigeria’ was made available to our correspondent.
In attendance at the event were the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom; a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Martin LutherAgwai (retd.); a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega; and a member of the House of Representatives, Aishatu Dukku; as well as officials of the US Department of State, scholars and members of the civil society.
While noting that Nigeria had made significant progress as a democracy since returning to civil rule in 1999, Fayemi said “democracy is a journey and not a destination” hence the need to address imbalances in the Nigerian federation.
He also maintained that a fundamental restructuring of the Nigerian federation “is an unavoidable step for the creation and sustenance of a participatory, consensus-oriented, accountable, responsive and equitable national governance based on respect for the rule of law.”
Fayemi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum explained that his party, the All Progressives Congress, included restructuring in its 2015 and 2019 manifestoes and had been working towards it in a bid to use its platform to address the perceived structural imbalance.
Others issues he listed included the political economy of federalism which he said must involve the allocation of public revenue, security sector governance, human rights, social justice, electoral system, type of government-parliamentary or presidential.
Fayemi said, “The current phase of the struggle is therefore not just about maintaining the sanctity of the ballot but also holding those elected accountable and stimulating civic engagement in the public realm, in a way that democratises ownership and improves the quality of life of our people.
“We must banish the idea that governance is something performed by a team of gifted performers or strong men, while the rest of the citizens are spectators or complainers,” he added.
Ambassador Johnnie Carson of the USIP and Agwai were said to have led the discussion session after the governor’s presentation.