The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned as a show of shame and
national embarrassment, Thursday’s fracas by disgruntled All
Progressives Congress, APC, members in the House of Representatives,
saying the ugly development brings to question, President Muhammadu
Buhari and his party’s commitment to democracy, unity and the stability
of the country.
The PDP said the “disgraceful” act is a direct
consequence of President Buhari’s lack of democratic credentials to
reign in his party to respect the independence and sanctity of the
legislative arm of government, the very citadel of democracy, as
enshrined in the nation’s constitution.
PDP National Publicity
Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Thursday said “the barbaric
attempt
to physically assault a duly elected Speaker, seize the mace,
the authority of the House, is a direct attack on the Nigerian
parliament which embodies the supremacy of the people and our freedom as
a democratic nation”.
The party said what Nigerians witnessed in
the House on Thursday clearly underscores the fact that the APC has
exhausted its excuses and has now imported its internal contradictions
into an independent arm of government as a way to further cover its lack
of ideas for governance.
It alerted that intelligence available to
it shows that “the brawling APC lawmakers ostensibly acted on
instructions from the Presidency, an obvious indication that President
Buhari is largely an interested party whose involvement is beyond mere
body language”.
The PDP said the dishonorable conduct from the
unruly APC lawmakers in acting out the script did not come to it as a
surprise given that they are bred and nurtured under a political
platform that lacks discipline and thrives on violence as an unwritten
manifesto.
“We state unequivocally that the onus lies on
President Buhari to ensure that all democratic institutions are
harnessed for effectiveness, a responsibility he has apparently
abdicated by allowing his personal interest to instigate division in the
parliament, a tendency that poses great threat to the survival of our
democracy and the stability of the nation”.
The PDP said the
continued confusion in the APC-led government is a confirmation of its
earlier stand that the APC lacks the capacity and democratic discipline
to effectively steer the ship of nation and face the challenges of
governance at the center.
“If a party that has since March 28,
2015 when it got its victory, about 90 days ago, cannot resolve a basic
issue of selecting its leadership in the National Assembly, clearly,
their competence for national governance comes to question”, the PDP
stated.
The PDP however applauded Speaker Yakubu Dogara for his
comportment especially his statesmanly remarks after the unfortunate
incident and urged him to continue to display maturity and not yield any
ground in his duties to protect the independence of the legislature.
Finally,
the PDP commended all its members (past and present) in the House of
Representatives for their maturity and dignifying conduct in line with
the ideals of its founding fathers on democracy built on peace and
unity.
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