1st June, 2015
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Bayelsa state governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, has joined other PDP stalwarts in condemning in its entirety, the political crisis in Ekiti state, calling on all lovers of democracy to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari towards ensuring that the rule of law is observed.
Governor Dickson made the call in an interview with newsmen, shortly after attending a 3-day retreat for PDP members-elect of the National Assembly, themed, “The Role of The Opposition Party in Facilitating Development and Good Governance”, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He wondered how the Ekiti State Assembly would properly conduct impeachment proceedings against Governor Ayo Fayose, when it has just a few days left in the life of the legislature and called on President Buhari to intervene, as he is the President of all states, including those governed by the PDP.
According to him, “democracy has come to stay in the country as nurtured under the PDP leadership of the former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan for 16 years and should not be jeopardized as a result of the nature of politics played in some states in the federation.”
Governor Dickson pointed out that, under the PDP government at the national level, it allowed freedom of speech to thrive and there were no cases of political prisoners.
The acting national chairman of the PDP, Chief Uche Secondus, who also spoke in an interview, drew the attention of President Buhari and the international community to the political crisis in Ekiti state, describing it as unfortunate, where the legislators were bent on forcefully removing Governor Ayo Fayose, without serving him an impeachment notice.
of Bayelsa State
Secondus also expressed concern over the plan of the APC to dissolve election tribunals set up by the judiciary in Akwa Ibom and Abia, noting that, the development has resulted in the relocation of the tribunals to Abuja.
He hinted that, there was a plan by the APC to systematically cause crisis in the PDP controlled states, which he observed would not augur well for the nation’s democracy and urged President Buhari to ensure that, his administration abide by the rule of law, which he promised to keep in his electoral campaign.
In his keynote address, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, said the retreat was critical, as the PDP lost the presidential election and majority leadership of the National Assembly at the polls.
He explained that, the retreat was geared towards laying the fundamental steps towards building a formidable opposition, noting that, what the party needed to do was to demonstrate responsibility and hold the ruling APC to their electioneering campaign promises.
Such promises, Senator Ekweremandu pointed out include, equating the naira to one dollar, bring back the Chibok girls, wiping out insurgency, as well as the creation of 2 million jobs annually.