The Kawu Baraje-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration as worse than that of the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha, in the area of human and democratic rights.
“Indeed, General Sani Abacha must be lamenting in his grave that Nigerians wrongly abused him considering the high degree of impunities being encouraged in a democratic set up, with the Police being used as a tool to hound political opponents, ” the spokesperson of the new faction, Chukwuemeka Eze, said in a statement in Abuja Friday.
The faction was reacting to Thursday’s reported blockade of Rivers Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, from accessing the Government House, Port Hacourt, by a detachment of Police officers.
“We still claim that we are in a democratic society! Surely, even the days of Abacha were not like this,” Mr. Eze said.
He accused the Federal Government of a brutal onslaught against perceived enemies which he said had led to gross human rights abuses and breakdown of peace in some parts of the country.
He enumerated the dictatorial tendency of the administration to include the deliberate factionalisation of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, and the undemocratic attempt to impeach the Rivers speaker, Dan Amaechree, by five of the 32 members in the Assembly.
“If not for the swift intervention of the National Assembly, they might have succeeded in achieving their devilish aim without minding the consequences,” they said.
Mr. Eze also accused the Federal Government of organizing the stoning of visiting Northern Governors on a solidarity visit to their Rivers State counterpart.
He accused the government of encouraging the Tukur-led PDP to illegally suspend Governor Amaechi against the spirit of the PDP Constitution, and soon following it with the suspension of Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State for not answering the calls of the ‘tyrannical National Chairman of the party’.
Speaking further, the “new PDP” also lambasted the Tukur-led faction for suspending Senator Andy Uba for winning the Anambra State PDP governorship primaries just because it preferred another candidate.
“Not yet satisfied, these enemies of democracy had the guts to remove the names of Governor Murtala Nyako and that of one of the founders of PDP, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, from the delegates list of Adamawa State for their failed Special National Convention,” Mr. Eze said. “Haba! What type of politics is this? And these people still want us at our ages to keep quiet and allow them to shave our heads while we do nothing! God forbid.”
They are hounding us
Mr. Eze lamented that the Federal Government and the Tukur group were hounding members of his faction across the country and closing down their secretariats contrary to the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act which allow for freedom of association and freedom of factionalisation of political parties respectively.
He however said in spite of the onslaught against members of his faction, they remained determined in their bid to rescue the PDP from destruction.
“PDP was born during the dark days of Abacha, today a new PDP is being given birth to and is determined to legally and constitutionally fight these impunities being perpetrated by false democrats in our country,” he said.
Ministers’ sack political
The ‘new PDP’ said all the nine ministers sacked on Wednesday by Mr. Jonathan were dropped because they were either nominated by members loyal to the faction or are sympathetic to it.
“We are aware that these ministers had been under surveillance and denied the necessary tools to work with – in short, they were programmed to fail immediately they were identified with us,” he said.
He lamented that effective and honest ministers were sacked while the most corrupt, whose atrocious activities are well known to Nigerians, were retained.
Mr. Eze said the former Minister of Housing, Ama Pepple, was dropped for “approaching Mr. President to plead with him, even kneeling down to beg him to forgive Gov. Amaechi for whatever sins he is assumed to have committed against him”.
He added, “We wish to assure these victimized Ministers that their travails are temporary. They have nothing to be ashamed of; their fate is in the hands of God and their future is very bright. Therefore, rather than being sad, they should count themselves lucky for being part of the struggle to salvage our party and country from the hands of opportunists who are using a political party which they do not know how it was formed to torment and haunt the founders of the party and their supporters.
“We urge former Heads of State, Religious Leaders, Our Royal Fathers, Civil Society Activists and all men of goodwill to intervene before these misguided elements plunge this Nation into anarchy. This Country belongs to all of us and we can no longer sit and watch an over ambitious cabal intoxicated by power brazenly inflict needless pain on us on a daily basis.
“We also urge all Nigerians to intensify prayers for God to touch the hearts of our leaders so that these dark days of General Abacha during which people are haunted for expressing their views may be cut short,” they said.
Source: Premium Times
