Speaker says conflict is necessary in a democracy

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has said the current face-off between the executive and the legislature is normal in democracy.

According to him, conflicts are a natural part of human beings and can be found even within the family unit.

“There will always be fractions. Where you have human and individual factors, even in a family, there is bound to be conflicts.

“In the relationship between the Legislature and the Executive, there will always be conflict. The only problem is that sometimes we cast conflicts as intricately bad,’’ he said.

Dogara said sometimes conflicts were necessary for a nation, adding that where you had a collection of conformists, chances were that they would never make progress.

“For you to have innovation and progress, people must be free to disagree, and it is only in disagreeing that progress is made," he added.

He said that the most important issue was that leaders of all arms of government interpret the issues so that they could lead to the nation’s progress.

He said current political leaders must realise that Nigerians made a lot of sacrifice to ensure the enthronement of the current government, thus all sides of the government must close ranks and deliver on the promises that the people had sacrificed so much.

“Conflicts yes, we may have conflicts, but it shouldn’t endure to the level that it offsets the friendly relationship with the Executive which is necessary to deliver on the goals of governance, that is key.," he added.

He said the House had always been supportive of the executive and always overcome party differences to ensure passage of key legislations in the interest of the country.

Dogara said the APC government had not disappointed Nigerians as it had strived to meet their expectations, especially in restoring security in the North East.

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He said “This government, through various interventions has been able to ensure that the terrorists are not holding unto any spot of land. I believe this is one major thing that has given some hope to Nigerians.

“For the very first time, we are in a position to overcome this problem, and it is critical, even if it’s for nothing else that our citizens in the Northeast down to Abuja can move around more freely than before.’’

The Speaker also said the current government had made tremendous progress in tackling corruption as government officials now think twice before engaging in any corrupt act.