- No proper hand over to vice president
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, yesterday in Abuja declared that President Muhammadu Buhari’s ongoing 10-day private visit to London, United Kingdom is an illegal and unconstitutional trip.
Speaking during a media briefing on the state of the nation, Secondus, who described Buhari’s trip as “voyage unknown”, said it was condemnable that the President travelled to the United Kingdom without notifying the National Assembly and also did not hand over power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The PDP Chairman also lamented the escalation of bloodletting occasioned by the barrage of criminalities across the country, saying these developments have raised serious concerns on the issue of leadership and whether there is a government in place.”
Secondus noted that “while the Presidency continues to argue that there exists government in the country today, what obtains in reality is different.”
He noted that rather than give teeth to governance and address biting national issues of concern like the insecurity, “the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government exerts all its energies and resources planning nefariously how to undermine democratic institutions.”
According to Secondus, the security situation had been such that prominent Nigerian clerics have been raising serious concerns on the issue of leadership, even questioning whether there is a Commander-in-Chief in this country.
He stated: “I have called you this day to speak on some burning issues that relate to our dear country. The apparent incompetence of the ruling APC in the handling of affairs of governance has continued to take a huge toll on the nation.
“The level of bloodletting occasioned by the barrage of criminalities across the country can only be happening in a country without government. Things got even worse as the remaining goodwill of the people on this government vanished after it arm-twisted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), into tampering with the will of the people in the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
“There is no evidence of the presence of government in this country as crimes of all kinds are committed all over the country and Nigerians have never lived in such great fear and trembling for their lives.
“From Kaduna to Zamfara, Benue to Taraba, Plateau, Lagos to Enugu, bloodletting is continuing unabated, even the President’s home state of Katsina has lost about eight local government areas to bandits, much less the North East.
“Just last week, a female foreign humanitarian worker, Faye Mooney, a Briton was brutally shot dead in Kajuru, Kaduna state. The situation has deteriorated to the extent that this country can no longer protect the lives of international aid workers who are here to help us clear our mess.”
Secondus further noted that the continuous bloodletting in Kaduna state should be blamed on the type of provocative leadership existing in that state and indirectly encouraged by the federal government.
He stressed that the ‘body bag’ governor in the state does not seem to know how to engender peace among the people, pointing out that his actions and utterances facilitate instead of ameliorating the ill feelings among the people.
The PDP national chair further said that after several attempts by the APC to hijack the legislature failed, it turned to the Judiciary ridiculing the revered third arm of the government to the point of removing their confidence.
According to him, “The executive-backed humiliation of the head of the Judiciary, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, is a well-designed strategy by the APC administration to intimidate and coerce judicial officers particularly the Judges and Justices to fall in line and endorse all their undemocratic behaviours that are bound to come to the judiciary for adjudication.”
Secondus advised members of the Judiciary particularly those handling election matters and who are all Nigerians and are living in Nigeria that the country and rule of law should guide all their actions.
Furthermore, he them urged them to know that providence has placed on their laps the opportunity to make positive history and enshrine justice and fair play in the society knowing as a fact that no nation grows on injustice and injustice breed crisis.
To this end, Secondus enjoined Nigerian leaders through the media to speak up on the situation in the country and not wait until the nation finally grounds to halt before they voice out.
While appreciating the good work by the media, Secondus urged them to do more in condemning the deliberate bastardisation of critical institutions of democracy and clear destruction of separation of power among the three arms of government.
Source: THISDAY
