By Oyinkansayo Wole-Bodunde.
Audu Ogbeh, former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Minister of Agriculture from 2015 to 2019, has expressed concerns over the recent voice vote approval of President Bola Tinubu’s emergency rule proclamation in Rivers State.
Ogbeh believes that the voice vote method lacks transparency and accountability, allowing lawmakers to “hide under a shadow.”
As he stated on Channels TV’s “Politics Today,” “Ayes and nays do not give us a clear picture of the position and the moral authority of individual senators or members of the House. Nobody should hide under a shadow. If you want a vote, say so; if you don’t want it, say so. But this ayes and nays is a camouflage, it doesn’t work.”
To address this issue, Ogbeh suggests implementing individual voting with printable records, ensuring that lawmakers’ votes are transparent and accountable. He emphasizes that this is crucial for future generations, saying, “Someday, 10 to 20 years from now, their children and grandchildren and researchers would like to find out how individuals voted on particular bills.”
Ogbeh also commented on the potential impact of the Rivers crisis on the Niger Delta region, stressing that “Rivers State is bigger than any individual” and that Nigeria relies heavily on the region’s oil resources. He advises President Tinubu to engage notable Nigerians in mediating the conflict and promoting peace in the region, stating that “Nobody wants a crisis in the Niger Delta.”
