FORMER Secretary General of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Rabiu Lawal-Rabana (SAN), has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to reduce the seven-point agenda of his predecessor to two so as to churn out the benefits of democracy to Nigerians before the expiration of his tenure.

According to Rabana yesterday while speaking with The Guardian in Ilorin, the agenda should be narrowed down to credible electoral reform and provision of constant electricity. He did not, however, believe that the President should dogmatically follow and implement all the policies of his predecessor.

The former NBA chief added: "The President should take a critical assessment of whether the seven-point agenda has been realistic and whether its implementation has been effective and achieved the desired results. As a citizen of this country, I know that the prosecution of this agenda has not been successfully implemented in the past two-and-a-half years.

"Therefore, the President should within the limited time-frame prioritise the seven-point agenda and pick those that can be implemented and the results seen, or felt or appreciated by Nigerians. We should have the electoral reform and constant supply of electricity. It is upon these two thrusts that the nation can be moved forward".

He added: "In that group, I will say that he should pursue vigorously the agenda on electricity because it is the main thing that drives the economy and the social wellbeing of citizens. Once electricity is in place, all industries will be revived, there will be a boost in the manufacturing sector, which will create employment and generate income earnings".

He added: "The effect of electricity on the economy is that it will reduce unemployment and insecurity because the state of our insecurity is largely due to unemployment. Electricity will also boost our earnings, which in effect also reduce poverty and once poverty is reduced, standard of living will improve. If electricity issue is resolved, 70 per cent of problems in this country would have captured all other ancillary challenges".

For him, the rule of law must equally be upheld as it remained the basis for effective governance and economic revival.

Besides, he observed that the longevity of the nation's democracy would be premised on the importance attached to a virile judiciary system.

On insinuations in some quarters of alleged plans by Jonathan to contest Presidency in 2011, Rabana said irrespective of the arrangement within the PDP, the supremacy of the nation's constitution should not be shoved aside.

In his views, the electorate and the Constitution should be the guiding principles for the President. Besides, he said the achievement in office of the President would also be a veritable yardstick to determine his suitability or otherwise of his ambition, "if any".

Rabana noted: "If in the next one year or thereabout we can see that Jonathan has given Nigeria a new face in terms of quality governance, I do not see anything wrong in him wanting to contest for Presidency. It is a matter of his personal choice and when he so decides, it is the prerogative of the electorate to vote for him or not. I believe that he cannot be shut out".

He added: "After all, if President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua were to be alive, he would have gone for a second term and probably, Jonathan would have been his running-mate. So, we should not use a lesser guideline to deprive the nation of a good leader. But as said, his performance will determine his suitability or otherwise".