A former National Vice Chairman North-west of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Salihu Lukman has lamented that the National Assembly has involuntarily submitted itself to the narcissistic control of the President Bola Tinubu.
Lukman in a statement issued Tuesday stressed that until and unless the parliament could free itself from the President, it would almost be impossible for it to develop the capacity of defending and protecting the interest of Nigerians.
Against this background, he said there was a need to renegotiate Nigerian democracy, based on which new framework of political party operations, management and operations are instituted to liberate elected representatives from the clear narcissistic control of the President.
Lukman was of the opinion that it was only when that happens that Nigerian democracy can produce elected representatives, including National Assembly members from the clear narcissistic control of the President.
He said part of the challenge of the country’s democracy was that the two chambers of the National Assembly are only accountable to themselves.
He noted that the Public Accounts Committees in both chambers are expected to oversight management of funds allocated to the National Assembly.
The former APC chieftain stressed that somehow, these are issues that contribute to the current reality whereby the National Assembly, its leadership and members lost the moral authority to regulate the conduct of the executive arm of government.
He said with that, they function practically at the mercy of the President and members of the executive arm, almost as if they are employees of the Executive.
Lukman stated: “Using all these incentives, the President and members of the Executive arm seamlessly turned on the ‘gaslight’, which leaves members with no option but to believe and approve every proposal submitted even when they are injurious to public interests. Having served as the machinery that hurt the people, they become liabilities and therefore eventually got discarded.
“The point is, Nigerian democracy, as it is, is not functionally representing the interest of citizens largely because the parliament represented by the two chambers of the National Assembly – Senate and House of Representatives – have involuntarily submitted themselves to the narcissistic control of the President.
“Until and unless the parliament can free itself from the President, it will almost be impossible for it to develop the capacity of defending and protecting the interest of Nigerians.”
“That will require a holistic approach of undertaking deeper reforms of Nigerian politics such that the survival of Nigerian politicians is not a function of the ‘benevolence’ of the President.”
Lukman added that this would necessarily require that political parties in Nigeria are transformed beyond the status of being shadow partners to the President.
He pointed out that If that is to be achieved, the organs of political parties must not only be allowed to function, but their decisions must be binding on every leader and member of the party, including the President.
“We must renegotiate Nigerian democracy, based on which new framework of political party operations, management and operations are instituted to liberate our elected representatives from the clear narcissistic control of the President,” Lukman said.