Presidency/NASS face-off: Why Military may strike again in Nigeria—Rights groups
….Abia political saga, an abuse of judicial process
….Ikpeazu still remains the Governor of Abia State in law
The coalition of human rights groups in Nigeria, under the aegis of
Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice(CHRSJ) has disclosed on
Monday that the men of Nigeria Armed Forces may have struck again, if
the present political leaders in the country failed to play the
political game according its laid down rules with the creation of
unnecessary and avoidable tension in the polity, describing the
ongoing face-off between the Presidency under the watch of President
Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the National Assembly under the
watch of Dr. Bukola Saraki as bad omen for development and growth of
the country which might derail the survival of nation’s democracy.
The groups also described the ongoing political mess in Abia State as
an abused of judicial process and self serving to create unnecessary
political tension in the Eastern part of the country, saying that it
was a grand plan of the ruling party to entrench one- party state in
the country, adding that the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) acted within the ambit of the ruling of Justice Okon Abang of
the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja but too in haste to issue the
Certificate of Returns to Mr. Uche Ogar when they knew that no lower
Court has final power to remove anybody from office because Supreme
Court was a final arbiter in any matter, calling for the immediate
withdrawal of Certificate of Returns issued to Mr. Ogar by the
nation’s electoral umpire and all the parties should maintain status
quo pending the exploration of the legal opportunities till the apex
Court of the land(Supreme Court).
It added that Mr. Ogar was not qualified to benefit from the ruling of
the Court because there was no evidence of Ogar’s participation in the
said Abia State PDP’s Primary election in December 14th, 2014 as he
failed to sign the election result of the said primary, noted that
Ogar just mislead Justice Abang of the Abuja High Court during the
judicial process, adding that Buhari led ruling All Progressives
Congress(APC) was planning to declare State of Emergency in some
opposition states, including Abia and Ekiti States, in the country in
order to give leeway for ruling party to come to power in those States
through backdoor.
It further stated that the current political leaders in the nation
have failed the masses of the country and a situation which put
Nigeria people in perpetual abject poverty, insisting that every
government in the land had its cabal and the present administration of
Buhari had its cabal led by Secretary to the Government of the
Federation(SGF),Mr. David Babachir Lawal and Governor of Kaduna State,
Mallam Nasir El-Rufai which they were acting the script of few leaders
of the ruling party against the perceived opposition of Buhari’s
government.
The groups including; The Christian Awareness Mission
Group(CAMG),Passengers Fundamental Rights Group(PATRGIA),The Islamic
Political Awareness Group(TIPAG),Centre for Social Justice and Equity
of Nigeria(CESJEN),Veteran Groups for Operation Clean
Crusade(VGOCC),Apata-Aiyeraye Social Political Volunteer Group(ASPVG),
De-Mainstream
Independent Group(DMIG) and Coalition Against Illegal Arrest &
Unlawful Detention (CAIA&UD).
Others were; Centre for Constitutional Rights and Counter Corruption
Crusader, Save Lagos Group(SLG) ,The Conscience
Mainstream(TCM),African Masses Voices for Survival (AMVS),The
Christians Youths for the Peoples’ Rights and
Development(CYPRD),Islamic Movement for Muslims’ Rights(IMMR),Divine
Nigerians Liberators for Peoples’ Fundamental Rights(DNLPFR) and The
Christians Volunteers Groups for Good Governance in Nigeria(TCVGGGN).
The groups spoke through the CHRSJ’s Executive Chairman, Comrade
Adeniyi,Alimi Sulaiman, after an emergency meeting of the Coalition on
the “State of the Nation” in respect of present tension in the polity,
noted that “instead of Presidency and National Assembly to put energy
on how to ameliorate the suffering of Nigeria masses , the both arms
of government are now rekindle their energy on who gets what position
in the current political system”.
This was contained in a meeting message released by the CHRSJ’s
Directorate of Media and Research, maintained that the socio-political
and economic problems bedeviling the country presently called for
serious external intervention of well meaning Nigerians, predicted
that there might be end to democracy in Nigeria, if the current crop
of political leaders were not trend softly and it would be disastrous
for current hard earned democratic experiment to collapse mid-way.
According to the message: “If Military takes over the reign of power
today,may God forbid bad occurrence. We are very sure that nobody will
fight for the restoration of democracy back to the land again because
pro-democracy groups and activists have been polarized already by the
political class. Military men are not sleeping but keenly watch the
political development of the country. Although, Military in government
may not be fashionable again but the country political circumstances
may make it fashionable again. By now, President Buhari should face
governance by stopping unnecessary fight with other arms of
government. Nigeria masses are yearning for good governance not
excuses and brawl within the system.
“Presently, Buhari is driving the country democracy to the brick of
collapse with the avoidable political tension orchestrated by
presidency and its agents. National Assembly should be left alone to
choose their leader because democracy is a game of numbers and
calculations. By every standard today, Nigeria political leaders are
writing letter for Military intervention as a result of current
development in the polity that may derail our hard earned democracy.
If Military men say ‘Fellow Nigerian’ today, nobody will resist”.
Comrade Sulaiman who further alleged that some cabals in the
administration of Buhari had turned Nigeria into their political
empire, stating that eighty-five percent(85%) of the States of the
federation could not pay workers salaries, hunger in the land,
clearance of Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Yusuff Buratai of
corruption for having mansion outside the country while some other
officers facing charge over similar matter, report of revolt by ranks
and files of the Military officers against their bosses in various
Commands over non-payment of allowances, Security agents face-off at
the IDPs Camp over food items, unjust retirement in the security
apparatus, political crisis in Abia State, Buhari Certificate saga,
Judicial black-market injunctions and host of others could lead to
military interregnum.
“There is an adage which says that wherever the two elephants fight,
the grass in the area will suffer for it. The ongoing imbroglio
between the Presidency and National Assembly replicate the adage which
not for public interest. The present political leaders should recall
that the Second Republic political crisis had never up this level
before the Military junta of Muhamamdu Buhari struck and sent
democratically elected President Sheu Shagari back home”, it added.
The meeting therefore called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)
Justice Mahmud Mohammed to investigate all the political cases going
on in the land, particularly, the Abia State saga, insisting that Dr.
Okezie Ikpeazu still remain the Governor of Abia State until the final
arbiter, the Supreme Court made otherwise pronouncement on the matter.
Signed:
COMRADE ADENIYI, ALIMI SULAIMAN
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE (CHRSJ
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