The House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Public Petitions, Hon. Mike Etaba, has praised the Supreme Court’s judgement granting autonomy to local governments, calling it a significant victory for democracy in Nigeria.
In an interview with Vanguard in Abuja, Etaba, who represents the Obubra/Etung Federal Constituency of Cross River State and is a third-term member, emphasized the importance of local government autonomy for effective governance.
According to him, “Democracy begins at the local level; therefore, the local government should be given a chance to perform and serve Nigerians at the grassroots.”
“For me, it’s a clapping hand for Mr. President. Because the local government is where the whole governance should be happening. When we talk about local government, that is where the whole hope of governance should be happening. I’m happy that even the governors, you know, are even part of what is happening today. Because no governor will tell me that he is not happy about this local government autonomy,” Etaba said.
He further explained, “They should be happy because the local government we are talking about are the people that voted, you know, myself, the governors, the state house of assembly, and the senators to power.
So who would not be happy that a local government has been given autonomy for people to operate in their various local governments and control their funds? For me, it’s a double win for Nigeria’s democracy.”
On Bills for Parliamentary System and Single Tenure
Etaba also shared his views on the proposed bills to return Nigeria to a parliamentary system and to extend the tenure of the President and governors to a single six-year term, which has passed its first reading in the House.
“Single tenure for president for six years, I don’t subscribe to it. If you say it’s eight years, if you say it’s eight years for, you know, each president to come on board, you know, to do what he needs to do, because you need to give each, every political zone to do at least eight years to be able to create an impact,” he said.
Etaba elaborated on the inefficiency of a six-year tenure, saying, “Six years is not enough for you to deliver, you know, the dividends that you expect to deliver. That is my take.”
Regarding the parliamentary system, Etaba noted, “For the parliamentary system of government, I don’t subscribe to it. We are not a one-language speaking country that you expect that, what happens in Dubai should happen in Nigeria. It doesn’t work like that.”
“We are diversified, our tribes are different. We have Igbo, we have Yoruba, we have Hausa and many more. Where I come from, we have about 80 languages.
So, my language is different from the next, five minutes drive, from the next person. So, how do you marry that to say that you want to do a parliamentary, it can’t work,” he added.
Fuel Scarcity, Economic Challenges, and Insecurity
Addressing the recent fuel scarcity, economic challenges, and insecurity in the country, Etaba emphasized the need for proactive government measures.
“First, I will take you on the issue of fuel scarcity. You said there was fuel scarcity. Yes. That fuel scarcity is not actually fuel scarcity. It was logistics. You remember it’s just the way we should be operating,” he said.
“We should be proactive in our service delivery in this country. Why do I say so?
There is no year we don’t have flooding in Kogi, Abuja road. And if you watch, each time there is flooding in that area, there is always fuel scarcity in this place, most especially in Abuja.
It affects Abuja and also the northern part of Nigeria. So that I don’t think is an issue. And this is an issue that has to do with logistics and that has to be solved,” Etaba explained.
On security, he acknowledged improvements in recent years, stating, “Talking of security, in the past eight years or seven years, you’ll understand that the security situation has come a little.
It doesn’t used to be like this. So for me, the first is to give Mr. President kudos and also to the security agencies for them to improve on their tactical styles to make sure that we wipe out this criminality.”
Addressing Hunger and the Role of Nigerians
Etaba also touched on the issue of hunger and the responsibility of Nigerians to contribute to food sufficiency.
“When we are talking about hunger, we are talking about hunger because most of our Nigerians that even have farms don’t want to go to farm. They believe that politicians should give them money,” he said.
“Every Nigerian, apart from the ones that are really facing the real insecurity, we have our quota to contribute to the food sufficiency in this country.
Including with the legislators, we have farms. We will pay farms because we need food to be sufficient in this country. But when there is food, this stealing and insecurity will reduce,” Etaba noted.
Minimum Wage and Cost of Governance
Addressing the issue of minimum wage and cutting down the cost of governance, Etaba emphasized the role of the private sector.
“If you have a house help, if government is paying 200,000 to any civil servant, private sector, construction company, they are supposed to pay that money. Your driver, you are supposed to pay that driver that money.
So when government is trying to negotiate these things to be able to carry everybody along, people are seeing government to be wicked. It’s not about government alone. I am part of the government. Private sectors majorly need to be considered in this picture,” he said.
“How many persons are working in government? Think about private sector. So would they push the wage bill to those who are making the economy stand?
They will suffocate the country. They won’t be able to survive it. Businesses will shut down. So that is why you see government being careful in these negotiations,” Etaba concluded.
