Senate President, David Mark, on Tuesday addressed the 130th General Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union holding in Geneva, Switzerland, assuring that Nigerian parliamentarians would do everything within their powers to sustain the nation’s democracy.

Mark, who also presided over a session of Tuesday’s General Assembly of the global body, noted that Nigeria was currently facing its own peculiar challenges but expressed optimism that the legislature would ensure the entrenchment of democracy as a culture.

He said, “That is why the main concern of the National Assembly has been the challenge to sustain democracy as a culture, acceptable and workable for the majority of our people, which takes into account the multiplicity of different ethnicities, tribes and cultures that co-exist in Nigeria.

“This is a matter of national importance and the Nigerian parliament is leaving no stone unturned in enacting enabling laws that require the comprehensive and committed contribution of all groups and interests.”

The senate president said the ongoing process of the amendment of our constitution was necessitated by the National Assembly’s need to effectively discharge its duties in order to guarantee development, progress and peaceful co-existence of all tribes in the country.

Mark also said the legislature was committed to the sustenance of global peace and democracy through the propagation of people-centred legislation and oversight.

He said, “We have currently before the National Assembly bills on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and child’s right act to take care of stranded and displaced children during civil strife.

“Some of the major problems currently confronting developing and emerging democracies include, but not limited to, political and electioneering conflicts, socio-economic agitations, ethno-religious crises, ethnic militias, boundary disputes, criminality and organised crimes.

“The problems, individually and collectively, constituted threats to the peace, security and development of countries, and also produce excruciating impact on the economy, health, education, women and children.

“Invariably, they have implications for the continuity and survival of the nation’s nascent democracy.”

He, therefore, stressed the need to explore how democracy could be deliberately constructed as a positive response to the issues threatening its sustainability.

He reminded the IPU’s leadership and members that the linkage of the mandate of the World body in the contemporary global era remained as relevant now as it was at inception.

He urged the IPU to continue to represent the earnest resolve to propagate democracy and peaceful co-existence through constructive engagements with governments and civil societies.

“This entails the task of not only promoting peaceful political order but also creating the enabling socio-economic and political conditions for its sustenance,” he said.

Mark expressed concern over the recent political crisis in Eastern Europe and the sub-Saharan region, describing them as “a stark reminder that we must remain ever vigilant as we strive to achieve peaceful co-existence between and within nations.”

He said transnational platforms like the IPU must continuously seek to evolve pragmatic strategies that would be capable of mitigating threats to democracy and peace.

-Punch