The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned what it called the charade being presented as the inauguration of new State Houses of Assembly in Edo and Bauchi States, describing the exercise as a joke and embarrassment to the party and the country.
“Democracy must be governed by the rule of law. A situation where 11 lawmakers in the 31-member Bauchi State House of Assembly and nine lawmakers in the 24-member Edo State House of Assembly were secretly ‘inaugurated’ and purportedly ‘elect’ principal officers behind closed doors is a joke and an embarrassment,” noted a statement by APC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu.
To this end, the party therefore called on the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki and his counterpart in Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, to urgently do the needful by issuing a proper letter of proclamation to allow for the lawful inauguration of the respective state House of Assembly and subsequent election of presiding officers in a transparent manner.
Issa-Onilu, in the statement Friday said the national leadership of the party viewed this illegality with shock and disappointment. Issa-Onilu stated: “As a party that has made a commitment to change, we strongly reject any attempt to take a recourse to brigandage of the past, when democratic practices were defined by the inordinate whims of people in power.”
The APC said perhaps the actors in the inauguration sham in Edo and Bauchi States needed to be reminded of the recent and widely-commended election of presiding officers in the newly-inaugurated 9th National Assembly, adding that the ruling party has set new standards in party politics by upstaging the rule of force, while upholding the rule of law.
“It is an unfortunate reminder of PDP’s queer brand of democracy. Practices like this are unacceptable under APC-led administration. As a party that is committed to higher ideals, we would use all democratic means necessary to ensure the right thing is done.”
The party restated that every elected lawmaker has a legitimate right to participate unhindered in the inauguration of the legislative arm in which he belongs, saying that the plot to arm-twist the majority in favor of the minority in the legislative arm died with the defeat of the PDP in 2015.
