The All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Rivers State for the 2023 election, Tonye Cole, has claimed the presidential system of government is not suitable for Nigeria.
Cole stated this while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.
According to him, Nigeria must reconsider its current system of government and embrace one that is most suitable for its people.
He explained that part of the reason the presidential system cannot work in Nigeria is that it can be exploited by a few people, adding that it has not built institutions that can hold people to account.
Cole noted that every successful country has developed a system of government tailored to its unique context, citing Arab nations and China as examples of countries that rejected Western political models.
He said, “This American system that we call the Presidential system in Nigeria, we need to go and readdress it. We cannot import the parliamentary system of the UK, and it will not work here; we cannot import a presidential system, and it will not work here.
“Every African in their country are satisfied with the political system and democracy they have, but they will tell you no. Why? Because it is contrary to who we are, absolutely contrary.”
Cole emphasised that Nigeria’s system of government should be rooted in its own culture, noting that the country had an indigenous political structure before colonisation and should consider returning to it.