Six members of the upper legislative chamber belonging to the All progressives Congress (APC) on Monday participated in the screening of service chiefs by the Senate, despite last week’s directive by the national leadership of the party for its legislators to block all executive bills or confirmation of nominations from the president.
In a communique issued last week Thursday, APC had mandated its members in the National Assembly to “seek ways to protect themselves against the aggression of the PDP, its thugs and the Presidency” pending the resolution of the Rivers State crisis.
It specifically directed its legislators to frustrate every bill coming from the Presidency, including the 2014 budget proposal currently before the National Assembly, as well as approval of security chiefs and ministerial nominees of the president.
“The National Executive Committee of the APC has now resolved that if these acts of impunity and lawlessness continue unabated and the Police persists in being an enforcement arm of the PDP to the detriment of our members, it will have no alternative than to ask our teeming members all over the country and especially in Rivers State to take whatever steps that are necessary to protect their lives and property”, the party had said.
“Following on the forgoing and in view of the joint resolutions of the National Assembly on Rivers State, and other constitutional breaches by the Presidency, the APC hereby directs its members in the National Assembly to block all legislative proposals including the 2014 Budget and confirmation of all nominees to military and civilian positions to public office until the rule of law and constitutionalism is restored in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria in general”.
However on Monday, six APC senators — Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara Central), Babafemi Ojudu (Ekiti Central), Akin Odunsi (Ogun West), Mohammed Sani Saleh (Kaduna Central), Atai Ali Aidoko (Kogi East) and Ajayi Robert Borofice (Ondo North) — participated in the screening of the service chiefs recently nominated by President Goodluck Jonathan.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has announced a plan to involve security agents to henceforth handle matters in which the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) incites violence.
“The Federal Government has directed the law enforcement agencies to take seriously all statements aimed at inciting violence and disturbing the peace”, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Affairs, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak wrote in a statement.
“The Federal Government fully recognises that the constitution guarantees the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and it regards such enshrined constitutional guarantees of basic rights of Nigerians as the pillars of democratic governance”.
However, he stressed that the full enjoyment of such rights comes with personal and civic responsibilities on individuals and groups.
“It is therefore regrettable and unfortunate, that APC, which prides itself as a progressive party, should go all out to incite its supporters to resort to self-help to redress their grievances”, the statement added.
“This is a display of desperation and crass opportunism by a political party that wants to win at all costs. There are rules of engagement, which all the political parties are expected to abide by, instead of fomenting trouble in order to gain media attention”.
