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Nigeria to deepen democratic institutions – Mark
Newsdiaryonline Thur Sep
22,2011
President of the Senate Senator David Mark has restated the
resolve of the Federal Government to strengthen democratic
institutions as part of efforts towards deepening democracy in
Nigeria.
Such institutions Senator Mark said include capacity building
for the Legislative Arm of Government, Independence of the
Judiciary, reliable and credible media as well as civic
education for the citizenry.
Senator Mark said when the delegation of the United Kingdom’s
Department for international development (DFID) visited him on
the project “Deepening Democracy in Nigeria” that the citizens
also need to acquire civic education in order to fully
participate in the democratic process.
The President of the Senate noted that the ultimate power and
decision on leadership rest with the people.
As part of measures to strengthen and deepen democracy, the
President of the Senate said the National Assembly has put in
place a Legislative Institute to develop capacity for the
Lawmakers.
‘’We have put in place a Legislative Institute to train our
Legislators. People need to be trained and re-trained. We also
need to learn from older democracies like the United Kingdom and
United States of America. It is also to strengthen democracy, he
added that the National Assembly passed the Freedom of
Information Bill (FOI) into law to guarantee media access to
information and freedom of the press”.
He therefore urged the media to take full advantage of the law
and make their profession worth the while.
He further advocated that the political class need to work in
tandem with international best practices of democracy.
Nigeria he added, is working towards standardizing their
democratic culture as well as meeting the international
standards of civil rule.
Earlier, the leader of DFID delegation, Dr Garth Glentworth
accompanied by the Ghana Electoral Commission Chair Dr Afari
Gyan said the United Kingdom is keen about deepening democracy
in Nigeria, a development he opined would make the nation
prosperous and her citizens reap the dividends.
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