A presidential aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and former National Caretaker Committee chairman of the party, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, has expressed shock over the news on the treatment reportedly meted to Governor Ayo Fayose and members of PDP by the police in Ekiti state.
Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo, the spokesman to Senator Ahmed Makarfi, in a statement, said, “Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi is appalled by the news coming out of Ekiti State, which reports that not only were members of the PDP denied their constitutionally guaranteed rights of assembly, but that also, in the process, the state Governor and his Deputy, who happens to be the party’s candidate in the forthcoming election were physically assaulted and injured by the police.
“Senator Makarfi is pained by this brazen infringement on the individual and collective rights of the people as enshrined in our constitution and considers it an assault not only on Governor Ayo Fayose and the PDP, but also a knife through the heart of the nation’s democracy, by an agency of state that is funded to protect those rights amongst other functions.
“As we approach 2019 elections, these signals are ominous as they portend a tendency towards desperation and the proclivity to deploy instruments of state towards the attainment of a predetermined agenda.
“Situations such as this bring into sharper focus, Senator Makarfi’s arguments and appeals, with respect to restructuring the country, that we also consider restructuring our institutions in such a way that they are insulated from political control to enable them serve the state as opposed to serving political leaders of the time, which is what obtains at the moment.”
As the people of Ekiti state heads to the polls, the presidential aspirant appealed to the police and other security agencies to operate in a manner that would inspire confidence in the people.
He urged the federal government to rise to the occasion by providing a level-playing field for candidates standing for the election in Ekiti state, and subsequent elections so as to ensure the development of democracy and the rule of law.
Makarfi pointed out that the entire world, not only Nigerians, are watching with interest to see how situations unfold in the coming days.
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