The Peoples
Democratic Party on Sunday accused President Muhammadu Buhari of violating
several sections of the Constitution.
The party said it
arrived at this conclusion after its review of the political developments in
the country since the All Progressives Congress took office at the center.
The opposition
party, which ruled Nigeria for 16 years before it was defeated by the APC
during the last elections, therefore, said it was alerting Nigerians and the
international community that all was not well with the nation’s democracy.
The National
Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement in Abuja on
Sunday, said the PDP’s fear was derived from some alleged actions of President
Buhari’s government that, he said, undermine critical institutions of
democracy, emasculate the constitution and ostensibly set the stage for a
return of dictatorial regime in Nigeria.
Metuh said
despite claims of being a converted democrat, President Buhari had allowed,
under his watch, an incessant violation of sections of the nation’s
Constitution, a development, he said, that has become a huge threat to
democracy and the stability of the nation.
He said in the
statement, “For instance, how can this government explain the fact that a major
institution of democracy like the Independent National Electoral Commission has
been deliberately debilitated to the extent that it can no longer perform its
statutory responsibility for lack of quorum?
“Nigerians are
aware that before his tenure expired on June 30th, the former INEC Chairman,
Prof. Attahiru Jega, wrote to President Buhari, intimating him of the fact that
the tenure of majority of the national commissioners will expire before August,
yet the President never acted, resulting in the present crisis in the
commission, where more than 80 per cent out of the statutory 13 members remain
vacant, even as eleven states of the federation are also without Resident
Electoral Commissioners.
“We note that
this anomaly is in addition to the uncertainty surrounding the controversial
appointment of an Acting Chairman of INEC in the person of a national
commissioner whose tenure has since expired, not minding that there is no
provision for an acting chairman of INEC in our constitution.
“This development
has completely enervated the commission from carrying out its functions as
stipulated in part 1 of 3rd schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended,
thereby putting our electoral system under severe threat.”
Metuh wondered
why President Buhari should wait to be urged before he upholds his
responsibility of forwarding replacements to the Senate for confirmation so as
to enable the commission effectively carry out its constitutional
responsibilities to the nation.
He alleged that
this could this be a ploy by the APC-led government to use a decapitated INEC
to conduct the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States to
pave the way for their planned “capture” of the two PDP states.
He said, “Is the
weakening of INEC not part of the plot to use the commission to put the PDP in
precarious position in various electoral tribunals to the advantage of the APC?
“Furthermore,
Nigerians are witness to the undue interferences of the Department of State
Services in the activities of election
tribunals in
Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and other PDP states, where electoral officers are being
harassed, intimidated and detained, ostensibly to influence judgments against
the PDP.”
Metuh added that
what was of grave concern to his party was the adamant stance of this
administration in running a government without the statutory components of a
full cabinet as prescribed by the Constitution.
When contacted,
APC Spokesman, Lai Mohammed, said he would not react to Metuh’s statement,
saying the “PDP and its dwindling members know that their market has closed.”