President
of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Wednesday described the masterminds
of Tuesday siege of the National Assembly by men of the
Department of State Services, DSS as cowards. He also dared the
national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams
Oshiomhole and the APC Senators to go and secure two- third to
impeach him.
The
senate president also lampooned the APC Senators, asking them to stop
being cowards on their alleged plot for leadership change
in the Senate through what he described as illegal session for trying
to remove him and his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, stressing that
Nigeria is not a Banana Republic.
Speaking
at the World Press Conference he organised in Abuja, the Senate
President advised the APC Senators it get the two- third majority
that was required to remove him, rather than chase shadows as well as
resort to the use of illegal and crude methods like the security
agencies for assaults on the parliament and by extension, democracy.
"The
very day 2/3 majority of senators withdraw their
confidence in me or support for me, I will quit
as Senate President, the same path, I believe , my Deputy,
Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Speaker of the House of Representatives ,
Hon Yakubu Dogara will toe if such scenarios play out.
"Some
of you may recall that about two years ago, I stated that there was a
government within this government, to a purpose that was not in the
interest of what the people voted for. I said it then, and now,
almost on a daily basis, we are seeing the manifestations of that
government within a government. It beats one’s imagination how the
head of a security agency could have authorized the brazen assault on
the legislature that we saw yesterday. Despite the threat to our
lives, we shall continue to fight impunity and injustice in this
country.
"The
legislature, more than any other institution in this country, more
than any other arm of government, represents the will of the people.
We are elected by the people, and an assault on the legislature is an
assault on the people of Nigeria. The forcible shutdown of the
legislature was an unconscionable assault on a national institution,
and thanks to all your efforts, the aggressors have been put to
shame. The resistance mounted by staff of the National Assembly, our
colleagues in both chambers and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)
who refused to leave the entrance of this Complex until the siege was
broken, strengthens our faith in the people of this country. Among
the many that come up for special mention, we believe that Honourable
Boma Goodhead, a member of the House of Representatives, stands out.
She looked a masked security operative in the eye and dared him to
shoot. She let it be known that Nigerians would not stand for the
barricade at the National Assembly, that we would not be cowed.
"We
must say that when we fought for Change, we could not have envisaged
a scenario such as unfolded yesterday – an atmosphere where people
cannot tolerate dissent, or mere differences of opinion as to the
future of our dear country. This is not the Change we fought for. We
did not fight for instruments of state to be used to oppress
Nigerians and their lawmakers. We know that we, certainly, did not
fight just so the legislature could be undermined and subjected to
this onslaught.
"The
ensuring standoff was a show of shame that played itself out over
several hours in full view of the country. In no circumstances should
this have happened. And we as a nation reaped the bitter fruits
instantaneously, as evident in media images relayed around the world,
images that shame us as a democratic nation. The siege was also an
act of cowardice by those seeking to carry out an illegal impeachment
of the leadership of the Senate in flagrant disregard of the law.
People who seek control at all costs, by whatever means, never
minding the injury to democratic norms.
"I
have to say that this is not about me – Abubakar Bukola Saraki as
an individual. It is not about Ike Ekweremadu, nor is it about Yakubu
Dogara. I am speaking for my colleagues when I say that this is about
the soul of Nigeria, what we represent as a country, and our standing
in the comity of nations. This is a country where so much is expected
of us, so many rungs of the ladder that we are supposed to have
ascended as a nation. Instead we are wallowing in impunity and
illegal show of force, all of which retard our progress.
"This
is most disheartening. I don’t get any joy in saying: I said so. I
don’t. However, some of you may recall that about two years ago, I
stated that there was a government within this government, to a
purpose that was not in the interest of what the people voted for. I
said it then, and now we are beginning to see the manifestations of
that government within a government. It beats one’s imagination how
the head of an agency could have authorized the brazen assault on the
legislature that we saw yesterday. Despite the threat to our lives,
we shall continue to fight impunity and injustice in this country.
"Unfortunately, Tuesday's shutdown
prevented us from meeting with INEC, as scheduled, to address funding
concerns. We will continue to look into the matter. In the spirit of
that, we also appeal to Mr. President to sign the 2018 Electoral Act
Amendment Bill which has been sent for his assent.
"We
thank the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for his handling of
the situation we were all confronted with yesterday. His decisive
action went a long way towards restoring confidence and the image of
our country. It sent a powerful message – that the DSS cannot be
recklessly deployed against institutions of our democracy. The path
of leadership is not by party, and we must commend it wherever it is
found. Mr. Acting President did the right thing. However, the damage
control so far does not address the question of how this invasion was
allowed to happen in the first place.”
Speaking
on the lessons that gave been learnt so far, Saraki said, “There
are many lessons to be drawn from the ugly incident we all witnessed
yesterday. For one, government must ensure that security agencies
remain neutral and act in line with the position of the constitution
as well as their enabling laws. Heads of Agencies should be
accountable, and those who step out of line must be held responsible
for their actions. Enough with impunity. Enough with the reckless and
senseless deployment of militaristic force. Enough.”
On
the focus of the National Assembly, the Senate President said, "In
this dark cloud, we can see the silver lining, and that silver lining
is the commitment of Nigerians to defending their hard-won democracy.
We want to reassure Nigerians that, on our part, we remain committed
to working for a country governed by the rule of law. Our desire is
to have a society where there will be equity and justice, not
oppression. We stand committed to doing our utmost as lawmakers to
ensure that the responsibility and functionality of governance are
met. My confidence is unshaken. We remain committed to the success of
the historic 8th National Assembly, and to the continued progress of
our country.”
He
commended the PDP federal lawmakers for squaring it up
with the security agencies during the illegal invasion for illegal
change of leadership in the senate , the civil society organizations
, the media , concerned Nigerians and the international community for
rising up in defence of democracy , vowing that no amount of
intimidation , will make him and his colleagues to surrender for
impunity, recklessness and lawlessness.
"By
this, we have shown that Nigerians can resist government within
government in whatever guise, and this is humbling for me. Those who
sought to attack the National Assembly under my leadership for their
selfish ends have only affirmed my belief in this country. They
attempted to execute an illegal impeachment of the leadership of the
Senate without the backing of the law, but they faltered. I am
confident that, together, we shall always defeat acts of
unconstitutionality. The rule of law shall always prevail.
"Happily,
by the actions that Nigerians took yesterday, they demonstrated our
strong resolve as a nation not to give ground to oppression. The
legislature, more than any other institution in this country, more
than any other arm of government, represents the will of the people.
We are elected by the people, and an assault on the legislature is an
assault on the people of Nigeria. The forcible shutdown of the
legislature was an unconscionable assault on a national institution,
and thanks to all your efforts, the aggressors have been put to
shame.
"The
resistance mounted by staff of the National Assembly, my colleagues
in both chambers and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who refused
to leave the entrance of this Complex until the siege was broken,
strengthens my faith in the people of this country. The rain fell,
the sun rose, but Nigerians stood their ground in defence of
democracy. With the strength of will demonstrated by everyone against
unwarranted and unconstitutional militaristic might, the siege could
not stand.
"I
want to thank Nigerians, Senators, Members of the House of
Representatives and National Assembly Staff, for standing up to be
counted for democracy during yesterday’s siege. I thank the
thousands who monitored the situation on radio, television and social
media, voicing their outrage at the siege, thereby sending a clear
message to those that hatched the plot that the Nigerian public would
not buy this act of gangsterism using instruments of state such as
the DSS.”
No comments:
Post a Comment