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By Emmanuel Oloniruha
Presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Dr Chibuzo Okereke, has called for deliberate legislative reforms and an expanded definition of Federal Character principle to ensure true political inclusion for women, youth and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).
Okereke made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
He spoke on the sidelines of a birthday dinner organised in honour of Chief Ezenwa Nwagwu, a pro-democracy activist, election advocate and Executive Director of Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in Abuja.
According to Okereke, democracy risks losing its core values if a significant portion of the population remains excluded from the governance and electoral processes.
“At the heart of democracy is inclusion and participation. What we can do is to be deliberate about it, ensuring that we elevate conversation around political literacy right at the grassroots level.
“This is important so that our people can understand really what politics is about, what participation is about, because without adequate participation, then the values of democracy itself are lost in the process,” he said.
Okereke also advocated a broader interpretation of the Federal Character principle beyond regional and ethnic quotas.
“In terms of legislation, we have to look at it deliberately. We need to redefine our understanding and concept of federal character in Nigeria, beyond ethnicity to expand it to include youth, women, people with disability and other vulnerable groups,” he said.
Okereke also called on political parties across the country to adopt deliberate governing frameworks, including quota systems, to facilitate the emergence of diverse leadership candidates.
“The fact is that for anyone to advance in the issue of inclusion, you have to be intentional, you have to be deliberate, and you have to be inclusive in conceptualising the framework in governing the parties.
“Like the quota system has been adopted in many other jurisdictions we can take off from there. But ultimately it is for different groups to elevate the understanding and education of political literacy.
“So that we can make decisions at the leadership recruitment gate through the electoral process to make sure we have balanced and inclusive representation,” he said.
Okereke said that Nigeria has a lot to benefit in a democratic system where the women, youth, persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups are carried along.
Responding to concerns over the high cost of nomination forms which often discouraged women and young aspirants in many political parties, Okereke said that his party already has a policy in place, as an exemplary model for political inclusion.
He said that the LP already enshrined provisions in its constitution making nomination forms completely free of charge for women, youths, and marginalised groups across all elective positions- presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly.
“For the local government elections we are having, it was made available free for anyone who desires to run for the office on the platform of the LP.
“Labour Party is the party for ordinary people, the workers and common people. That is what we believe in and that is what we are doing.
“For us to attract the best of us to govern us, we have to remove all barriers, not some, but all barriers inhibiting the best among us from coming forward to offer their skills, intellect and capacity to help move our country forward,” he said.
Paying tribute to the celebrator, the LP flagbearer lauded Nwagwu, for his three decades of dedicated activism, voter education and sacrifice toward building an inclusive democratic environment in Nigeria.
Okereke urged Nigerians to see civic rights including the right to vote and be voted for as fundamental human rights that directly dictate the quality of life and governance in the country.
“For about 20 to 30 years, Nwagwu has dedicated his life to activism, sensitising the people and sacrificing to make sure that we have an inclusive environment for our democracy.
“The call is for us to increase the critical mass of people of his light who are willing to make the sacrifice, understanding that it is the human, not the natural resources, not our environment, not the trees, are able to build a nation,” he said.
Okereke urged citizens not to write off the political process prematurely, but see it as critical part of human life.
“The same way it is your right to own property, work and go to school, it is your right to vote and be voted for. We must classify civic rights at the highest levels, even to the level of the right to life, because leadership quality determines everything.
“But our people have not started seeing politics and governance in that light. Majority of people still believe, it is a business of a few or those who choose to go there. But remember, it’s just like every other thing about life,” he said.
He said that when large number of the population are consciousness of politics and get involved in the process they would make a better impact on the society.(NAN)
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Edited by Francis Onyeukwu
English (US) ·