Former Speaker of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and senator-elect representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Bassey has charged the three arms of government to work in synergy and harmony for the betterment of Nigeria and Nigerians saying nation-building is a joint task.
The Senator-elect who spoke during an interview in Abuja recalled with nostalgia his days as the Speaker of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly where he operated on the principle termed: “cooperation of powers.”
The lawmaker further posited that “my belief is that for Separation of Powers to work, there must be cooperation of powers. I believe that the three arms of government are intertwined and interlinked. One disjointed move by any of them can bring down all.”
The Senator-Elect further maintained that in playing opposition politics, the interest of Nigeria should be paramount and there should be areas of cooperation between all the parties, majority and opposition, particularly when there is a convergence of interest for the betterment of Nigeria.
He said: “As the opposition, we will not fail to draw attention to issues we believe can derail progress if not checked by the majority who have the right to the decision but we will work together to make Nigeria work as it is the greatest task we have. Nigeria must work.”
The former Speaker also admonished the legislature as a repository of the power of the people to live up to expectations as gatekeepers through its oversight functions as an antidote to corruption, ineptitude and other practices in government Ministries, Department and Agencies.
He also expressed readiness to bring to bare his legislative experience to join other patriots to legislate on issues that affect the socio-economic development of Nigeria, especially the ones that will affect the growth of the nation and improve the standard of living of the people.
“I will also do a lot in oil and gas, the environment, fiscal policy and true federalism. I believe with the right positions on these matters, my people and the generality of Niger Deltans will enjoy the full benefits of their membership of Nigeria,” he said.
He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for the conduct of the 2023 election but regretted that its best was not good enough as the elections were supposed to be a complete departure from the past given the strong creative and innovative underpinnings of the 2022 Electoral Act.
He said, “However, we did not get it all right but it was an improvement on previous elections. Starting from the primaries, parties took charge and that is important.
“Parties are basic political institutions which are governed by laws and regulations. The Independent National Electoral Commission did a good job in making political parties abide by their Constitutions.
“During the main election, INEC scored low on many fronts. For instance logistics, voter security and result announcement. Some officials and security agencies compromised with corrupt politicians against the will of the people in some places.
“The BVAS machine and other instruments of electronic voting failed in some places and above all, results couldn’t be uploaded to IREV in the first election.
“I believe we can do better given the fact that I expect INEC to sit down to review the elections and its operation.”