The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has said that the presidential system of government operational in the country remains an accidental experiment yet to address the teething challenges of development in the country.

The Ooni threw his weight behind the clamour by 60 members of the House of Representatives seeking the return to the parliamentary system of government in the country.

He spoke in Abuja when he met with a delegation of the House of Representatives jointly led by the Minority Leader, Mr. Kingsley Chinda and Abdulsamad Dasuki, who solicited his counsel, blessings and support for the three proposed bills which seek to restructure elections at local, state and federal levels.

The Ooni, who showered encomiums on the parliamentarians, said there was a need for healthy competition among the six geopolitical zones to effectively harness and unlock the country’s huge natural and human resources.

He noted that it was unfortunate that a mix of parliamentary and presidential systems of government pioneered by the late Nnamdi Azikiwe, Pa Obafemi Awolowo and other founding fathers of the country was short-lived due to military incursion in the governance of the country.

He added: “It’s a mistake of the past that people are saying it’s the northern people that are holding it, they want to. It’s a lie; if the people see data of what is in the north now, I am very, very sure they would be the ones that will say let us do that thing now, now, now.

“Some people call it restructuring; some people call it true federalism; some people call it devolution of powers; they are the same thing.”

“What is in our constitution happened by accident. It was designed just to test why we are having problems. In the Southwest they are fighting; in the North they are fighting; in the East they are fighting. Okay, let’s do a mix a bit.”

Speaking earlier, Chinda expressed concerns over the myriad of challenges facing the country, saying that ongoing consultations would get the buy-in of critical actors in the Nigeria project.

He said: “If we try the local government system and it works, we graduate to the state, where members from the State Assembly would among themselves elect a governor. If that works, while that is happening we are looking at the faults, the problems, the loopholes and we keep making consequential amendments to our laws before we get to the national level.

“So, that’s why we are looking at 2031 for the presidential; then we would have tried the local government, we would have tried the state before we come to presidential. If there’s need and Nigerians think that we need to put A, B, C in place, we will have time to do all that.

“But your Majesty, why we have come, as I said earlier, is to seek your consent, your blessings, your advice and tap from your wealth of knowledge.”

On his part, Dasuki expressed optimism that the adoption of the parliamentary system of government would help to address various concerns raised by all Nigerians.

He said: “Sir, the elections are over. The court cases by God’s grace are over. We all know from all parts of the country, there are complaints; things are not the way they should. Some are clamouring for decentralisation; some are saying restructure. We as parliamentarians are saying the parliamentary system of government. I think there’s no better time to put our words into action than now.

“So your Majesty, we are here on behalf of the 60 of us that have started this very important journey. We believe something needs to be done to arrest the current situation we are in Nigeria today. And I believe by the time we leave here by God’s grace, it’s going to be action and action to see us through the challenges that are before us,” he added.