Nigeria - Presidency Denies Involvement In Rivers State Parliamentary Crisis
https://nigeriaafrica1.blogspot.com/2013/07/nigeria-presidency-denies-involvement.html
The Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe has absolved the president from the crisis that engulfed the Rivers State House of Assembly On Tuesday.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja, Mr Okupe said the statement credited to the Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Lai Mohammed, called for concern as president remains a stickler for the rule of law and due process.
He expressed sadness that despite repeated clarifications, some politicians are bent on mischievously dragging the exalted office of the president into needless controversies.
Mr Mohammed in a press statement had said by his abhorrence of the rule of law and majority rule, the latest indication of which is his unmistakable support for a group of renegade lawmakers who are fomenting trouble in Rivers State, the president has become a clear and present danger to the country’s democracy, and must be shown the way out in accordance with the Constitution.
“Under President Jonathan’s watch and with his tacit support, a few lawmakers dictated to majority of the members of the Ogun State House of Assembly, which was locked for a long time. Under President Jonathan’s watch, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum was sabotaged by his minions who declared a Governor with 16 votes a winner over the one who scored 19 votes, in an injurious blow to the concept of democracy.
“And under his watch, five lawmakers – out of 32 – have become the majority and, simply because they have the backing of the presidency, are now being given police protection to disrupt the proceedings of the House. As we write, Rivers state has been taken over by current and former militants who have been unleashed to destabilize the state and cause a breakdown of law and order, to pave the way for the imposition of a State of Emergency,” the statement said.
It also said “this cannot and must not be allowed to continue, hence our call on the National Assembly to move quickly to remove the source of the crisis. Since this is no longer an intra-party dispute and because of its potentials to set the country on fire, we also call on civil society groups, professional bodies and ordinary Nigerians to rise up and defend the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution over arbitrariness,” ACN said.
The opposition party decried what it called the anarchy that is now reigning in Rivers, simply because the five renegade lawmakers have the backing of the presidency, which has emboldened them to take extra constitutional measures to try to remove the majority-backed Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
He expressed sadness that despite repeated clarifications, some politicians are bent on mischievously dragging the exalted office of the president into needless controversies.
Mr Mohammed in a press statement had said by his abhorrence of the rule of law and majority rule, the latest indication of which is his unmistakable support for a group of renegade lawmakers who are fomenting trouble in Rivers State, the president has become a clear and present danger to the country’s democracy, and must be shown the way out in accordance with the Constitution.
“Under President Jonathan’s watch and with his tacit support, a few lawmakers dictated to majority of the members of the Ogun State House of Assembly, which was locked for a long time. Under President Jonathan’s watch, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum was sabotaged by his minions who declared a Governor with 16 votes a winner over the one who scored 19 votes, in an injurious blow to the concept of democracy.
“And under his watch, five lawmakers – out of 32 – have become the majority and, simply because they have the backing of the presidency, are now being given police protection to disrupt the proceedings of the House. As we write, Rivers state has been taken over by current and former militants who have been unleashed to destabilize the state and cause a breakdown of law and order, to pave the way for the imposition of a State of Emergency,” the statement said.
It also said “this cannot and must not be allowed to continue, hence our call on the National Assembly to move quickly to remove the source of the crisis. Since this is no longer an intra-party dispute and because of its potentials to set the country on fire, we also call on civil society groups, professional bodies and ordinary Nigerians to rise up and defend the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution over arbitrariness,” ACN said.
The opposition party decried what it called the anarchy that is now reigning in Rivers, simply because the five renegade lawmakers have the backing of the presidency, which has emboldened them to take extra constitutional measures to try to remove the majority-backed Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
