The spokesperson of the Nigerian Senate, Yemi Adaramodu, has stated that the country’s democracy will be at risk if the National Assembly is made to operate on a part-time basis.

Adaramodu made this known while responding to growing calls for the country to adopt a part-time parliamentary system.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Friday, Adaramodu said democracy in Nigeria would be jeopardised if lawmakers in both legislative chambers transition from the current full-time arrangement to a part-time status. According to him, such an arrangement would weaken democratic institutions and governance structures. “A part-time parliament would mean a part-time democracy,” he said, stressing that the country cannot afford to take such a risk.

“If the parliament is on part-time, then it means democracy is on part-time. There is no democracy that derides its parliament and thrives,” Adaramodu, a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), who represents Ekiti South Senatorial District, said. He explained that lawmakers in both the Red and Green chambers carry the burden of their constituents and play critical roles beyond lawmaking. The parliament, he noted, also performs oversight functions and advocates for the needs of the people they represent.

“We go home almost every time, and we are the ones when they give birth to a new baby, they ask for naming ceremony funds. When they are building a new house, it is from us they ask for assistance.

“So, if the parliament was not there, who do you expect that our constituents would run to?

“The parliament is not just to sit down at the plenary and make laws alone. And when we make laws, we follow it up.”

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