The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, declared in Abuja on Thursday that political stability is precursor for economic development and must be prioritise by government at all levels.
Abbas who stated this in his remarks at the 2023 Democracy Day Lecture organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies ( NILDS), posited that it is only when there is political stability that efforts to improve economy, alleviate poverty and embark on infrastructural development can be realised.
Represented at the occasion by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, Abbas expressed delight that Nigeria democracy had made progress despite various challenges.
“Nigerians need to keep faith in democratic governance in the country which having practiced it for 24 years now and serving as the needed key for Nation building,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the theme for this year’s democracy day lecture was very significant, as it offered the opportunity to take stock of the nation’s democratic governance, highlight the political and socio- economic challenges, and make recommendations that would be useful for the agenda- setting mechanism of the present administration at the executive, judicial and legislative arms of government.
He said, “While Nigeria has made steady progress with democratic transitions from the first to the fourth republic, lessons from political developments in Africa offer Nigeria an opportunity to reflect and commit to entrenching democratic processes.
“The Rwandan genocide, the civil wars in Cote d’Ivoire and Mali, the outbreak of war in Sudan, as well as the violent protest in Senegal, are some unpleasant examples.
“As such, there is a need to address the insecurity besetting our nation as it poses a threat to our democracy.
“Therefore, the new government should do something urgently to address the menace of insecurity bedeviling our country and undermining our collective resolve.
“It is in connection to the above that continuous appraisal of our democratic journey, in fora such as this,is vital to take stock and draw lessons for the progress of our country, Nigeria”.
Also, former Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, who was a moderator at the occasion for the discussants harped on the need to always organise discuss around the nation democracy to sustain it and to ensure its improvement.
He stressed that it was good to recognise the June 12 and move away from the assumption that May 29 was the democracy day.
