Monday, November 17, 2014

IMPEACHMENT OF EKITI SPEAKER: IMPUNITY & MISUSE OF POLICE THREATEN DEMOCRACY


17th November, 2014
PRESS RELEASE:
IMPEACHMENT OF EKITI SPEAKER: IMPUNITY & MISUSE OF POLICE THREATEN DEMOCRACY

The speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly was allegedly impeached today by only seven People’s Democratic Party (PDP) members of the House out of 26. The seven minority members were allegedly led into the hallowed House by about 200 policemen who reportedly disallowed the remaining 19 members who belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from entering the House to participate in the deliberations of the day.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) strongly condemns this disgraceful act of impunity. It is a blatant rape on democracy, an open misuse of the police and an undisguised invitation to chaos. It is also an unbridled breach of due process. It contravenes the principle of justice and equity, violates natural justice and tramples upon the rule of law. It is therefore unacceptable.

We recall a similar scenario during the attempted impeachment of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly by only 5 PDP members. The recognition given by President Jonathan to Governor Jang of Plateau State as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum despite the fact that Jang scored 16 votes while his rival, Governor Amaechi of Rivers State, scored 19, also comes to mind.

These undemocratic, autocratic and Bohemian decisions have marked out President Jonathan and the ruling party as unrepentant champions of injustice and brandishers of conscienceless power who are ever ready to subjugate powerless conscience.

MURIC is shocked by the overzealousness of the seven minority members to set aside universally recognized rules on quorum. It is a shameful disregard for decorum and a total disrespect of decent political culture. It exposes politicians in the ruling party as charlatans and Machiavellians.

Posterity will hold President Jonathan, his ruling party and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) responsible if Nigeria’s nascent democracy fails. The misuse of policemen by the ruling party and the unprofessional conduct of the IGP further cement the argument for the establishment of state police. It has become crystal clear that those in power today have the noun ‘oppression’ and the verb ‘to oppress’.

MURIC does not need a crystal ball to predict that the 2015 general elections cannot be free and fair as long as it is conducted by the same President Jonathan who gave credit to 16 over 19 and 7 over 19.

It is paradoxical that our president has just returned from Burkina Fasso where he played Big Brother Africa after a military coup in that West African country. We are constrained to ask, “Where is leadership by example?” Does charity begin at home in Nigeria at all? What lessons are we imparting to the Nigerian youth and students who engage in unionism?

MURIC invites the international community to note these ugly developments on the Nigerian political scene. We charge the lawmakers who were shut out of the Ekiti State House of Assembly to use every constitutional means available to resist the tyrants in our midst.  

We call on Nigerians generally to ignore affiliations on the basis of political parties but to defend democracy on the basis of principle, truth and morality.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)



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