Defend democracy against tyranny, Makarfi tells Nigerians

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Former Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, wants Nigerians to defend the nation’s democracy.

He said in a statement that the siege in the homes of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, was unfair.
According to him, undemocratic forces should not be allowed to derail the gains that Nigeria has attained since the advent of full- fledged democracy in 1999.

Makarfi, a presidential aspirant on the PDP platform in the 2019 election, said: “The move was obviously to stop them from presiding over the day’s session, which eventually witnessed the defection of some senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The statement by his spokesman, Mukthar Sirajo, said: “Makarfi considers this assault on the leadership of the National Assembly, an independent arm of government and one of the legs of the tripod upon which the presidential system rests, as dangerous, primitive and one that constitutes a very serious threat to democracy in our country.

“It is a clear breach of one of the fundamental tenets of presidential democracy, which provides for separation of powers. It also constitutes a serious abuse of the fundamental human rights of the targeted individuals.”

He stressed that the two presiding officers and the defectors respectively, have an inalienable right to associate.

He said it was sadder still that this impunity and crass disrespect for legality and constitutionality are being perpetrated.

Makarfi added that this government is itself a beneficiary of respect for the rule of law by the then PDP government.

He lamented that the nation’s parliamentarians and their leadership could brazenly be treated like criminals under a democratic setting.

“This descent into the abyss must be halted and reversed,’ adding: ‘these strong-arm tactic adopted by the police is a setback to our developing democracy and a serious dent on the standing of Nigeria as a bastion of hope in the comity of democratic nations in Africa.”

Makarfi added that this development has reinforced the need for the country’s restructuring.