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Keep off politics, PDP warns military

By Azimazi Momoh Jimoh, Abuja
11 March 2018   |   2:36 am
The PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Nigerian military not to allow itself to be dragged into partisan politics, saying there was no reason for its response to a recent statement by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.

The PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Nigerian military not to allow itself to be dragged into partisan politics, saying there was no reason for its response to a recent statement by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, in a statement, noted that the type of politics being played by the All Progressives Congress (APC) was what made Ekweremadu call on the administration to stop endangering the nation’s democracy.

The party stated that after watching the full video of Ekweremadu’s contribution on the floor of the Senate, it saw nothing that could have warranted the statement issued by Defence Headquarters.

“The PDP holds the institution of the Nigerian military in high esteem and we advise that it should not allow itself to be dragged into desperate attempts by the failed APC administration to criminalise every contrary view or attempt to call it to order.

“Every student of Nigeria’s history knows that executive excesses such as sponsored political violence, intimidation of opposition and dissenting voices, human rights abuses, disrespect for court orders and disregard for the separation of power and the rule of law, as we have today in Nigeria, have always been the bane of the nation’s democracy,” the PDP said.

It noted that Nigerians are aware of the numerous flagrant disobedience to court orders by the APC-led administration, as well as harassment, arrest, detention and media trial of perceived political opponents of the government on the flimsiest of trumped up charges, while established cases of corruption by the presidency cabal are swept under the carpet.

Listing instances of alleged persecution of political opponents, the PDP said: “Nigerians saw when Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso was prevented from visiting his home state, Kano; how the house belonging to Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi was pulled down by an APC government in Kaduna State, and how a meeting by Senator Shehu Sani and other politicians from the state, who have political disagreement with established APC interest was visited with horror.

“They also watched with dismay as a full squadron of the police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) laid siege on the sacred ground of the court to arrest Senator Dino Melaye, who was arraigned by the police over his report of the attempt on his life.” 

While describing Ekweremadu’s call as timely, PDP said it was “patriotic and not inimical to the military or the nation, especially in the face of such violations and given the fact that he only reinforced the need to guard against actions that can scuttle our democracy as already raised by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai in 2017.”

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