Buhari’s government has destroyed National Assembly, judiciary, says Fayose

HURIWA backs Senate on declaration of IGP as ‘persona non grata’

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by President Muhammadu Buhari, has destroyed the legislative and judiciary arms of government. He lamented that democracy in Nigeria is under serious threat with the constitution appearing to have been suspended.

In a statement yesterday signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose, who described the legislative and judicial arms as the pillar of democracy, said: “Even when Nigeria was under military rule, our judiciary was not ridiculed, with the government choosing which court judgment to obey and which one to ignore.

“The once respected National Assembly and Judiciary have been so badly blackmailed such that for the first time in the history of Nigeria, functionaries of the Executive arm of government now hold the two arms of government with contempt, treating them as if they do not exist. Even those who invaded the Senate and took away the Mace are being protected by President Buhari and his men.

“President Buhari’s persistent refusal to obey court orders, refusal of his men to obey summons by the National Assembly and most importantly, the withdrawal of $496 million from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) without approval of the National Assembly are indications that the constitution has been suspended and Nigeria returned to full-fledged dictatorship.”

Meanwhile, a pro-democracy and non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has backed the Senate on the declaration of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, as persona non grata over his refusal to appear before the Senate.

It urged President Buhari to dismiss the IGP and find a suitable replacement to save Nigeria from sliding to full-fledged anarchy and chaos.HURIWA, in a statement yesterday by its National Co-ordinator, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko in Abuja, stated that apart from the total and disgraceful disrespect to the constituted authority of the National Assembly in failing to honour a lawful invitation to answer questions on security-related failures of his headship of the Nigeria Police Force, the sponsorship of jobless youths to demonstrate against the Senate and the sponsorship of media warfare targeting at the National Assembly amounts to a very serious threat to national security and constitutional democracy. 

The pro-democracy group also said the actions of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force in deploying brute force to invade and take over for hours the premises of the Rivers State High Court in an attempt to stop the lawful sitting of the court on Friday on a matter instituted by Senator Magnus Abe of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against erstwhile Rivers State governor and current Transportation Minister, Mr. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, showed that the IGP has lost all legitimacy to continue to remain in office.