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Our People Must Enjoy The Dividends Of Democracy
Governor
Abdullahi Adamu has stated that the people of Nasarawa state must be made to
enjoy the true dividends of democracy. Governor Adamu stated
this while leading a delegation of top Nasarawa state indigenes to the National
Assembly to formally present the bill for the creation of 16 additional local
governments in the state.
Governor
Adamu used the occasion to lament that former exercises in local government
creation were done with military fiat, an exercise that gave the people little
or no opportunity to fulfill their aspirations for administrative independence.
The present exercise, being the first to be carried out by a democratically
elected government, took into consideration the need for both administrative and
political liberation, as well as self-determination and self-actualization.
The
occasion which was hosted by the Senate President, Dr. Ayim Pius Ayim, was an
occasion for Governor Adamu to detail the painstaking procedures which were
followed to create the local governments. He therefore called on  the
members of the national Assembly to use their good offices and the powers
conferred on them by the constitution to correct the impression that democratic
governments cannot create new administrative units.
Receiving
the request from the Governor, Senate President Ayim Pius Ayim, commended the
government and people of Nasarawa state for the painstaking manner in which they
followed the constitution in creating the local governments. In some states,
according to Ayim, flaws that nearly threatened democracy have characterized the
exercise. He said that the National Assembly was not opposed to the creation of
local governments, but were concerned with sustaining democracy. He assured that
when all the instruments were put in place, the national Assembly would give
constitutional legitimacy to the new local governments. He however urged the
people of Nasarawa state to be patient with the National Assemble while the
process ran its course.
Present
at the occasion were Senators Tunde Ogbeha, Senate Committee Chairman on States
and Local Governments; Danso Sodangi, Committee
Chairman on Federal Capital Territory and Jonathan Zwingwina, Chairman on
Information. Also in the Nasarawa state delegation was the Deputy Governor,
Prof. Onje Gye-Wado; Speaker, House of Assembly, Musa Agyo and all members of
the State House of Assembly; all titled chiefs and emirs in the state and a
large delegation of the indigenes of Nasarawa state.
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