By Donald Iorchir
Abuja
The Edo state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, has called on Nigerians to massively participate in politics in order to ensure the entrenchment of transparent government based on the rule of law.
Speaking at a public lecture and inauguration of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (NSChE) FCT/Nasarawa chapter on the theme, ‘Promoting A Stable Political and Legal Environment for Industrialisation,’ Osaze-Uzzi said, for democracy to thrive, the rule of law must be upheld and everyone seen as equal before the law as provided by the country’s constitution.
“The rule of law is the legal principle that law should govern a nation, and not arbitrary decisions by individual government officials. It primarily refers to the influence and authority of law within society, particularly as a constraint upon behaviour, including behaviour of government officials.
“The development of the phrase “the rule of law” can be traced to Professor Albert Venn Dicey who wrote a book in 1885, titled: “Introduction to the Law of Constitution”, where he stated that the concept of the rule of law means that the state is governed, not by the ruler or the nominated representatives of the people but by the law and that government must be based on the principles of law and not of men”, he said.
The former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Director, who was the guest speaker at the occasion, urged citizens to resist executive domination of other arms of government, noting that the executive arm of government has always dominated “the political space over and against the other arms of government and want the people to see it as superior over the other arms of government.”
Speaking after taking over the leadership of the chapter, the new chairman of NSChE FCT/Nasarawa chapter, Engr. Ahmed promised to maintain the excellent leadership traits exhibited by the former executives and improved upon previous performance.
Other newly inaugurated executive members are Engr. Timothy K. Sheriff (Deputy Chairman); Engr. Robinson Ntiego (Secretary) and Engr. Olusola Michael Agbi (Assistant Secretary), among others.
