•Says coalition party will give Nigerians an alternative 

•Berates federal lawmakers on constituency projects, insists legislators have no powers to execute projects

Professor Pat Utomi, the proponent of a shadow government, yesterday unveiled cabinet members of his shadow government while also commending the formation of coalition African Democratic Congress, ADC, stating that it will give Nigerians an alternative to political party politics.

Addressing the media after a two-day retreat of the shadow government called the ‘’big tent’’ in Abuja, Utomi listed the members of his shadow government to include the following; Nana Kazaure (Information), Riwang Pam (Security), Nike Omola (Women and Gender Development), and Peter Agada (Infrastructure, Urban Development and Housing).

According to Utomi, the basic reasons for the shadow cabinet is give expert review of government policies and by no means trying compete or take over the affairs of governance from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

He said: “The progress of any government is to ensure the welfare of the people, hence there must be an alternative views and reviews of government policies to enable the government move forward in the right direction.”

Accordingly, he said that great institutions have built in checks and balances to help guide the ruling party in the processes of governance.

For instance, he said that the issues of constituency projects is an anomaly as practices in Nigeria, explaining that lawmakers have no business in executing projects, as it remains the exclusive reserves of the executive arm of government.

The Professor of Lagos Business School explained that with proper education, “legislators will know that they were not elected to execute projects, they were elected to make laws for the good governance of the country. To do otherwise is to make them become slaves as they will go cap in hands begging the executives for projects to execute.

‘’With this kind of practice, the members of the legislature will not be able to perform one of their basic duties, which is checks and balances,’’ Utomi said.

According to him, the idea of a shadow cabinet is not new as he, in 2007 discussed it with late President Umaru Yar’Adua who not only accepted, but wanted him to serve in his government, but he rejected the offer.

He identified the problems of governance in Nigeria to the absence of political will and not having a clear-cut national strategy, explaining that had it been that Nigeria has a clear political strategy, that the National Coastal Road Project would not have been a unilateral decision project as states would be made to contribute areas of need that would address their needs in the various states concerned.

According to him, ‘’there is data to make Nigeria great, but the problem is the absence of political will. Nigerians in government do not have the discipline to govern’’, explaining that there are lots of policy somersault in Nigeria.

Utomi faulted the various agricultural policies of the federal government, explaining that agriculture has moved beyond the era of hoe and cutlasses.

He urged government to address the challenges facing Nigerians, especially in the spheres of insecurity and the need for state police.

On the recently adopted ADC as a coalition party, Utomi described it as a welcome development, because as he put, “It will give Nigerians an alternative. The coalition is work in progress to use value projects to move the country forward”