The Socialist Workers and Youth League (SWL) has issued a strong-worded statement decrying what it describes as a questionable wave of bills currently being fast-tracked through the National Assembly, warning that they pose a grave threat to democracy and the well-being of Nigeria’s working masses.
In the press release signed by National Chairperson Jamiu Towolawi and National Secretary Amara Nwosu, the SWL expressed deep concern that the spate of legislative proposals is designed not to serve the people, but to consolidate the already expansive powers of the executive arm under the Bola Tinubu-led APC regime.
The group accused the current administration of working to roll back hard-won democratic freedoms attained through the sacrifices of the Nigerian people during the anti-military struggles of the 1980s and 1990s.
The statement pointed to the recently passed Cybercrimes Act as a prime example of the regime’s attempts to stifle dissent.
According to the SWL, while the Act is cloaked in the language of national security and cyber safety, its real purpose is to muzzle critics of the government. “Recent events have shown that this law was promulgated not necessarily to combat crime but to silence Nigerians speaking against the misrule by the President Bola Tinubu-led APC regime,” the statement read.
Among the legislative proposals raising alarm are bills seeking to establish a National Local Government Electoral Commission and to strip the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of its power to register and regulate political parties.
These powers would be transferred to a newly created commission headed by a Registrar General appointed by the President. The stated aim of the proposed changes is to enhance the credibility of elections and reduce interference from state governments.
However, the SWL dismissed these justifications as disingenuous,“It is simply illogical to claim that another commission would be created to manage party affairs for credibility reasons while trusting another electoral commission to conduct local government elections,” the group said.
The SWL warned that these bills could dangerously centralize electoral control in the presidency, undermining the independence of institutions and democratic processes.
The group also took a firm stance against a separate bill that proposes the creation of state and local government police forces. It argued that empowering state governments with police authority contradicts the rationale behind removing electoral control from them. According to the SWL, the historical role of the police in Nigeria has largely been one of suppressing civil liberties, and decentralizing this power would only expand the reach of state-level repression. “The creation of state and local government police will only empower the authorities at these levels to wield the police power to suppress opposition voices,” the group warned.
Citing the persistent rise in security budget allocations without corresponding improvements in national safety, the SWL asserted that militarized policing, whether federal or local, cannot solve Nigeria’s security problems. Instead, the group emphasized that improving citizens’ welfare, tackling poverty, and expanding access to education are more effective ways of addressing the root causes of crime. “A serious government would be interested in lifting the mass of people out of poverty, improving the quality of education with accessibility to all Nigerians while engendering economic policies that put the masses above the interest of a few billionaire ‘business class’,” the statement said.
Also raising eyebrows is another bill proposing six reserved seats in the House of Representatives for unspecified “special interest groups.” While potentially positive if aimed at empowering marginalized communities, the SWL cautioned that the vagueness of the bill’s language leaves room for manipulation by the political elite.
The group demanded full public disclosure of the bill’s content and objectives, warning that it could be yet another tool to entrench ruling class interests. “It cannot be ruled out that the lawmakers are merely putting forward another item on the ruling class’ agenda, to continue their marginalisation of the poor masses,” the statement noted.
Concluding its statement, the SWL called on the National Assembly to halt all further processing of the controversial bills until they are made fully accessible to the Nigerian public. It reiterated its demand for genuine reforms that reflect the will and needs of the people, rather than the consolidation of power by political elites. The group urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and committed to defending the democratic space.
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