Rauf Aregbesola, former governor of Osun and ex-minister of interior, has thrown his support behind a call to adopt a parliamentary system of government in Nigeria, arguing that the country’s size and complexity make it unsuited for the current presidential system. He spoke on Monday during a national dialogue on the Home-Grown Parliamentary System in Abuja.

“If you go on believing that an individual, no matter how capable, could govern 120 million people all alone without checks, we are joking,” Aregbesola stated, adding that he opposes the presidential model and believes the collective approach of a parliamentary system would better serve a populous nation like Nigeria.

Nigeria’s current presidential system allows for the direct election of the president, but in February, a bill to introduce a parliamentary system passed its first reading in the House of Representatives. Sponsored by 60 lawmakers, the bill reflects growing concerns over what they see as the “imperfections of the presidential system.”

Abdulsamad Dasuki, a representative from Sokoto, voiced this sentiment on behalf of the bill’s sponsors, saying the presidential system has “denied the nation the opportunity” to reach its full potential. A similar bill was presented in 2018 but failed to pass through the constitutional amendment process.