Saraki, Ekweremadu: PDP cautions Buhari against impunity

10-10-2016 

The Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP) has cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari to de­sist from all acts of impunity against persons, groups and organisations.

The party’s admonition fol­lowed the Federal Govern­ment’s withdrawal of the forg­ery case against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

It pointed out that the forg­ery case was a shadow chase from the beginning and com­plete nothingness.

In a statement on Sunday by its Spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the party said that the claim through the Lead Counsel, Aliyu Umar, that the withdrawal was on grounds of respect for the rule of law and hierarchy of the judiciary demonstrated more of comedy on the side of the government that has penchant for legal dis­obedience and abuse of court processes.

“Notwithstanding, this act of withdrawal justifies our earlier position that the All Progres­sives Congress (APC)-led ad­ministration is on a vendetta mission and not to govern”, it said.

The party said, “The atten­tion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is drawn to the re­cent withdrawal of the forgery case brought before Justice Yu­suf Halilu of the Jabi Division of the FCT High Court, Abuja by the Federal Government through the Office of the Attor­ney General of the Federation against the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of National Assembly, respectively.

“We are amused by this sud­den realisation of the Federal Government that the so called ‘Rule-Forgery Case’ was a shad­ow chase from the beginning. It was complete nothingness!”

The PDP expressed worry with the frequent interference on other arms of government by the APC led administration, adding, “This must be curtailed as a matter of urgency if Nige­ria is to practice democracy like other democratic systems across the world and live as one indivisible nation.

“The Principle of Separation of Powers as propagated in every democratic setting is to allow for checks and balances amongst the different arms of government in order to pre­vent excessive or cohesive use of power by any of the organs of government. In this context, it was clear to us and other well-meaning Nigerians from the onset that this case of forg­ery instituted against the pre­siding officers of the National Assembly was just another bad politics of the APC because the Federal Government under the Penal Code Law has no busi­ness with the Standing Rules of the National Assembly as alleged.

“We, therefore, further call on the executive arm of gov­ernment in the country to maintain the sanctity of this principle, and desist from un­necessary distractions with acts of impunity against per­sons, groups and organisations. We are in a democracy and not anarchy”, he said.