PDP alerts international community on ongoing crises

Augustine Osayande Abuja - The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said it had alerted the international community on violations of the opposition’s rights and those of the populace following the reported interrogation of Deputy Senate President Senator, Ike Ekweremadu, by police. The opposition party urged all citizens, the civil society and indeed the international community to note such developments in Nigeria. It alleged the onslaught against the opposition, the eroding of personal freedom, threats to lives, disruption of the legislative activities of the National Assembly and undermining of the independence of the local electoral body and “other dangerous signals” that the nation might be on a slide to totalitarianism. “As a party that sustained and nurtured democracy in the last 16 years, the PDP cannot fold its hands and watch but will stand with all patriots in resisting this attempt to transform our country from a democratic state where the freedom of citizens to hold personal opinions and aspirations are guaranteed, to a nation where despotism, fear, clamp down on opposition and of course the media will be the order of the day, ” National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said. Earlier, the PDP accused some leaders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) of threatening Deputy Senate President Senator, Ike Ekweremadu, to resign and allow a senator from the ruling party to take his position. Also Read: Fresh crisis looms in PDP over choice of principal officers Metuh said APC leaders had not hidden their bitterness and resentment towards Ekweremadu since he was elected by his colleagues recently. “Since President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that Senator Ekweremadu’s election was ‘unacceptable’ to his party, the Deputy Senate President, who can only be removed by the Senate has come under threats and intense pressure from APC leaders to resign and allow a senator from the ruling party to take his position,” said Metuh. “Having failed to get him to resign, the APC has now engaged in heinous plots to force him out of office, a design, which totally negates the independence of the legislature and the spirit and letters of the constitution of Nigeria,” Metuh added. He said the Inspector General of Police, acting on instructions, had invited the Deputy Senate President with a view to arresting him over phantom charges as a build up to incarcerate him, create a vacuum in the Senate and pave way for the imposition of APC preferred senator to take over his position. “We are aware that some APC senators opposed to the emerge of Senators Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively met last week and concocted a petition accusing the Deputy Senate President of altering the Senate Rules on the process of election of the Presiding Officers. APC has denied the claims. - CAJ News