According to DAILY POST reports, former National Vice Chairman North-west of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has lamented the perceived lack of representation of the interests of Nigerians by the National Assembly.
Lukman, in a statement issued on Tuesday, argued that one of the key challenges facing Nigeria's democracy is the fact that the two chambers of the National Assembly - the Senate and the House of Representatives - are only accountable to themselves, rather than the citizens they are supposed to serve.
He noted that the Public Accounts Committees in both chambers are expected to provide oversight on the management of funds allocated to the National Assembly, but somehow, these committees have failed to fulfill this critical role.
"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," Lukman stated.
The former APC chieftain stressed that this dynamic has left the National Assembly at the mercy of the President and the executive arm, operating almost as if they are "employees of the executive.”
According to Lukman, the executive branch has been able to leverage various "incentives" to effectively "gaslight" the National Assembly, leaving its members with little choice but to approve every proposal submitted, even when they may be detrimental to public interests.
"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 interests of Nigerians," Lukman concluded.