It will come as no surprise for me if the Kwara State House of Assembly wear a coat of multiple colours after the 2023 general elections.
We have different parties understandably flexing muscles now as campaigns commence. On the fore are the Accord Party, PDP, YPP, APC, SDP, ADP, Labour Party and NNPP.
History has shown that a healthy multi-party system, in which elected officials from various parties interact with one another and discuss party ideologies in order to debate issues of governance and the socioeconomic well-being of the populace, greatly enhances the beauty of the legislative process.
I understand that legislature is the fulcrum upon which democracy rests.
In this usage, democracy refers to representative governance. As a result, the legislative institution, which consists of a body of elected representatives, serves as the structural foundation for democratic rule.
In Nigeria, legislative cross-carpeting is increasingly the rule rather than the exception, which has a detrimental effect on legislatures’ ability to carry out their duties rather than essentially acting as rubber-stamp annexes of the ruling party.
Some people will be elected and they will cross the carpet.
I come to the conclusion, among other things, that in order to ingrain good governance, concrete legal and political frameworks must be devised to control the direction of cross-carpeting in Nigeria’s legislative houses.
(c) Jimson Jaat Taofik
