Written by: Leon Usigbe and Jacob Segun Olatunji -Abuja
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Thursday, warned the
Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) against any
attempt to intimidate or harass the clerk of the National
Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa and the National Assembly
Service Commission (NASC), for performing their statutory
functions during the inauguration of the National Assembly.
The opposition party, in a statement issued by its national
publicity secretary, Olisa Metuh, in Abuja, said any attempt by the
APC to transfer its frustration, “which was a product of
ineptitude,” would amount to witch-hunt and victimisation.
The party said the undertone of the statement of President
Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, that the clerk
was requested to shift the time for the inauguration, to enable the
president to address the APC legislators, “amounts to putting
undue pressure on civil servants in the National Assembly for
performing their legitimate duties and sends a serious signal
which should not be ignored.”
The PDP described as unfortunate, the fact that the APC’s
displayed its arrogance and disrespect for the dictates of the
constitution, by attempting to adjust the president's promulgation
order on the National Assembly and seeking to put their interest
over and above the supreme law of the land.
“It is a clear mark of disrespect to the constitution for the
president and his party to fix a meeting for him to address
legislators the same time he had directed the Assembly to be
inaugurated, in line with the constitution.
“For 16 years that PDP nurtured democracy in this country, there
was never a day it attempted to arm-twist or intimidate the
bureaucracy of the National Assembly to do its bidding, given our
recognition and respect for the independence and sanctity of the
legislative arm.
“The National Assembly is the citadel of democracy and
represents the collective voice of all Nigerians. The PDP, even in
opposition, will continue to protect its sanctity and will, therefore,
resist any attempt by the APC to undermine its independence and
those of other democratic institutions in our country,” it stated.
According to the PDP, the position of the APC and the Presidency
clearly negated Buhari’s well-received and praised assertion in his
inaugural speech that he belonged to everybody and belonged to
nobody as Nigeria’s president.
It also said rather than vilify the clerk of the National Assembly,
the APC should commend him for his patriotic and courageous
stand that had helped minimise the embarrassment the shifting
would have brought to the country internationally, given that it
had been announced to take place at a particular time on
Tuesday.
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