The Enugu West Peoples Forum has lampooned the Enugu State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over its stand on the letter by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, calling the attention of the international community to what the Senator described as endangerment of democracy and trumped up forgery charges against him, the Senate President, and three others.
Reacting to the claim by the Enugu State APC that Nigeria was a sovereign nation and Ekweremadu was wrong to invite the international community into Nigeria’s internal affairs, the President of the EPF, Hon. Paul Anikwe maintained that Nigeria was not only a member of the global community, but also a beneficiary of the generosity of the international community.
He said unlike the APC which sold lies to the world and sabotage the war against insurgency through arms sales blockade, Ekweremadu had acted responsively as a former Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.
He wondered why the Enugu APC, which had kept mute all along while unarmed young protesters of the South East and South-South were mowed down has suddenly found its voice because an Enugu son called the world’s attention to “the emerging tyranny”.
Insisting that the endangerment of democracy in Nigeria holds grave implications for Africa, he added: “Democracy is endangered when the executive refuses to obey court orders; when virtually every election is, especially in the strongholds of the opposition, is rendered inconclusive; when the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) abuses his office and court process for partisan and other vested interests; when the AGF defies parliamentary summons and joint resolutions of the National Assembly; and worst of all, when we go back to the military days of trumped-up charges against people who hold dissenting views with the aim of taking over an arm of the parliament which is the symbol of democracy”.
Hon. Anikwe emphasised that whereas Ekweremadu’s merely read “for your information and reflection” to the international community, “the Enugu West People Forum dare to ask members of the global community who have themselves invested so much in enthroning and sustaining Nigeria’s democracy to call the Federal Government and its AGF to order before things get out of hand”.
He said the people of South-East and South-South have never had it so bad since the end of the civil war in terms of allocation of opportunities and projects.
Hon. Anikwe described the Enugu APC leadership as “desperate job seekers”, accusing them of working against Igbo larger interest.
He, however advised them not to hope for a better treatment than other party leaders in the region under a government he described as “nepotistic”.
He queried: “Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, a perfect gentleman, was the Chairman of one of the ANPP and a founding father of the ruling party; Chief Chris Ngige is a first-rate medical doctor, former governor and Senator; Prof Anthony Onwuka is a renowned intellectual and former Vice Chancellor; Mr. Osita Okechukwu has been a consistent voice in the opposition and worked hard with leaders in the present government from the days of Senator Chuba Okadigbo; what did they get but third class ministries, junior minister, and a moribund parastal?”
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