THE LAGOSIANS SLAMS VOICE VOTING IN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: DEMANDS END TO CHARADE OF DEMOCRACY UNDER MILITARY-IMPOSED CONSTITUTION

The Leaders After God’s Own Spirit Initiating A New State, The LAGOSIANS, categorically condemns the National Assembly’s recent resort to voice voting on the proclamation of a State of Emergency in Rivers State, describing it as a dangerous affront to democratic accountability and a brazen validation of executive overreach.

According to The LAGOSIANS Spokesperson Mr Yinka Sotade, the continued use of voice votes on critical national matters exposes the fraudulence of Nigeria’s democratic pretensions under the 1999 Constitution—a military decree masquerading as a people’s charter.

> “Let it be clear: the National Assembly acted within the spirit of a constitution it did not write—a document imposed by military fiat, alien to the will and identity of Nigeria’s diverse peoples,” Sotade said. “Voice voting is not a democratic error—it is a design feature of a system built to evade accountability.”

The LAGOSIANS asserts that the real threat to Nigeria’s democracy is not merely procedural but foundational. As long as the country operates under Decree 24 of 1999, true democratic governance, representation, and equity remain impossible.

In its place, The LAGOSIANS calls for the urgent resurrection and modernization of the 1963 Republican Constitution—the only document rooted in the federalist consensus of Nigeria’s founding nationalities. This must be accompanied by a restructuring of Nigeria into autonomous federating units based on local identity, not artificial boundaries or population figures.

> “We must return to a constitutional order that recognizes Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities as co-equal stakeholders—not subjects of a central command,” Sotade added. “Only then can we build a nation that is just, stable, and prosperous.”

The LAGOSIANS also draws attention to the contradictory applications of State of Emergency laws in Nigeria’s history—from Balewa to Obasanjo, Jonathan to Tinubu—highlighting the legal ambiguity and political expediency that now govern national crises.

Voice votes and emergency decrees are symptoms. The real disease is the unitary structure falsely branded as federalism. The LAGOSIANS insists: no cosmetic reforms, no constitutional patchwork. The time has come to reclaim Nigeria for “We the People.”

Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi, the Initiator of The LAGOSIANS, The Leaders After God’s Own Spirit Initiating A New State, The LAGOSIANS, said the group is a faith based advocacy movement, concerned about the indigenous ethnic nationalities in Lagos and persons from other states who were born in Lagos and those from other states who have chosen Lagos as their state of residence. Beating down tribal hatred as it was seen during the last general election is the goal of the LAGOSIANS. We are out to promote the rights of every citizen of Nigeria in Lagos. Without neglecting the rights of foreign citizens to the security of their lives and property for which Governments exist.