The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other stakeholders in Enugu have lauded successive administrations in Nigeria for sustaining democracy in the country since 1999.

They spoke on Monday in Enugu on the backdrop of the 2023 Democracy Day celebration.

The state chairman of NLC, Fabian Nwigbo, said Nigeria had made tremendous progress since 1999, citing participation level in the general elections.

Mr Nwigbo, however, appealed for improved workers’ welfare, adding that Nigerian workers were not well remunerated.

“I am appealing to the federal government and state governments to have mercy on Nigerian workers and improve their working conditions,” Mr Nwigbo said.

Olu Omotayo, an Enugu-based civil rights lawyer, noted that development in a democracy was a gradual process and called for strengthening the various institutions in the country.

He said security and the economy should be strengthened and looked into by the new government, saying that “we cannot have economic and social developments without adequate security,” pointing out that “our democracy is gradually developing as we are not the same as we were in 1999.”

Also contributing, Alex Ogbonnia, national publicity secretary of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, said the most important thing was that Nigeria had moved from dictatorship and imperialism to an entire paradigm of democracy.

According to Mr Ogbonnia, since 1999, political elites have struggled to get power and corner the nation’s resources. He noted that the objectives of many politicians were not for the people’s interest but on how to aggrandise themselves and their cronies with wealth.

“It is no longer a government of the people but government of the few, by the few and for the few,” he said.

He called for true independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Judiciary to effectively discharge their duties without bias and favour.

Mr Ogbonnia explained that where the president and state governors appointed electoral and judicial officers, they would no longer be independent, hindering the separation of power doctrine.

“Our judiciary is a cobweb where small flies are always caught, and big ones are allowed to break it and pass,” he added. “There is no way an electoral body appointed by the president can conduct credible elections.

Similarly, a medical doctor with the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu, Eric Odo, appealed to the new president to match his words with action.

Mr Odo said President Bola Tinubu had a good grasp of the democratic history, especially regarding the annulled June 12, 1993, election widely believed to have been won by MKO Abiola.

The medical practitioner said the solution to the country’s current problems must be addressed. He advocated the country’s rapid industrialisation to be a producing economy rather than a consuming economy.

An industrialist, Stanley Onah, advised the current government to begin the process of total restructuring as promised. Mr Onah said this would ensure economic freedom and true federalism.

(NAN)