The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted the ongoing trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
According to the party, the trial signaled a quick slide in the nation’s democracy and defining moments in the nation’s history.
Saraki is standing trial for alleged false declaration of assets when he was governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.
A statement yesterday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, expressed concerns over what the party described as the “prevailing executive intolerance, the undermining of the institution of the National Assembly and the overall threat to the survival of our democracy.”
The party said Saraki’s ongoing trial, even when an Attorney General has not been appointed, did not follow due process.
It alleged that the presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) could not hide their aversion to the emergence of Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President.
The statement said, “The PDP says with the unfolding of events; the deliberate infractions and crass abuse of power by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC Federal Government, it is no longer in doubt that the nation is on a quick slide into fascism and official terrorism.
“Whereas the PDP totally supports the fight against corruption, while reposing confidence in the judiciary to protect and preserve its sanctity, we note with grave concern, the politically induced controversies within the judiciary as a result of the part being played by agents of the executive, especially the question of due process with respect to the roles statutorily vested on the person of an Attorney-General, who is yet to be appointed, regarding proceedings in the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
“We note this dangerous trend because the Presidency and the APC have not hidden their aversion to the election of Senators Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively, even as the fact of various moves to oust them from office, including the recent unsubstantiated allegations of forgery and harassments by the federal controlled security agencies are in the public domain.
“We call on Nigerians to be aware that the fixation on the leadership of the National Assembly is part of a major step towards the appropriation of the federal legislature, so as to undermine its statutory role of checks and balances and set the stage for dictatorship in the land.
“Part of this script is to commence a major onslaught against federal lawmakers perceived to hold divergent views to those of the Presidency, irrespective of party affiliations, a situation that would ensure a subdued legislature.
“The President Buhari-led regime has exhibited trappings of despotism, including ruling without a constitutional component of a cabinet, persistent abuse of power, undermining of democratic institutions, invasion of state government and personal houses, injecting confusion into the judiciary and hounding of individuals perceived to be against its interests”.
The party expressed worry over what it termed the relentless onslaught against democratic institutions, especially the growing tension trailing “the quest to annex the National Assembly”
It further described as a mockery of reasoning, for President Buhari to condemn the recent coup in Burkina Faso while his government continued to violate the provisions of the constitution of his own country.
The statement continued, “Also, similar machineries have been activated for possible forceful takeover of PDP states, a plot which played out in the recent act of terrorism against democracy, in the invasion of Akwa-Ibom State Government House by the Department of State Services (DSS), under the direct instructions from the Presidency.”
The party also listed what it called the “reprehensible invasion and sealing of Rivers local councils by the Police” saying, “We invite the international community and the civil society to note that our nation is facing a defining moment for the survival of democracy. Nigeria has come to a point where citizens, irrespective of political affiliations, can no longer freely express their views. “
