ABUJA – Senate Majority Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba on Tuesday in Abuja said that stability in the National Assembly would best be ensured if more experienced lawmakers were re-elected in 2015.
He said this while speaking with newsmen shortly after picking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination and expression of interest forms to re-contest his position in 2015.
He said that stability in the senate would ensure the stability of the country`s polity, adding that he decided to re-contest the election because his people desired him to continue representing them.
He expressed the belief that he had given the people and Nigerians generally a clear and loud voice since his election into the house.
The lawmaker said that he initiated 39 bills, a scholarship scheme with over 600 beneficiaries at all levels of education.
The senate majority leader was accompanied to the PDP headquarters by some Cross River serving and former members of the National Assembly.
He said that lack of continuity in the national assembly was inimical to the country`s democracy.
Ndoma-Egba, however, dismissed reports that the Cross River Governor, Sen. Liyel Imoke, was against his re-election bid, saying that the governor had never opposed his campaign to get re-elected to the senate.
He said that Cross River PDP stakeholders, including the state governor, had endorsed his re-election bid.
He, however, said that the parliament, which ought to be the main pillar of Nigeria’s democracy, was yet to achieve optimal performance due to lack of experienced members.
He said this is contrary to what could be obtained in more advanced democratic nations.
“I am re-contesting next year because it will be in the interest of the polity for us to continue with the stability and fortunately, I have been part of the leadership that has provided this stability.
“We want to build capacity in this institution. We want to maximise institutional memory. In any case, and in all humility, we have been doing well,” he said.
According to him, the failure of over 70 per cent of National Assembly members to get re-elected, has caused serious loss of institutional memory to the parliament.
He said it was unfortunate that at every election year, most senators were not re-elected.
He said the situation constituted “massive hemorrhage and massive erosion of institutionalisation”.
He said that the experience of the Senate President, Sen. David Mark, who had been in the senate since 1999, had helped to ensure the stability of the senate and the country`s polity. (NAN)
