Rivers state governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, and his Benue state counterpart, Samuel Ortom, have condemned the siege on the National Assembly by the DSS, urging Nigerians to rise up against the growing dictatorship of the federal government.
Governor Wike on Tuesday, August 7, declared that the action of the government is condemnable and has the capacity to truncate the nation’s democracy.
He said: “All well meaning Nigerians should stand up against this dictatorship. All over the world this has never happened. “Nigerians should not stand aloof and watch what is going on. This will consume so many people if we don’t rise against it.” Governor Wike called on National Assembly members to stand firm in defence of the nation’s democracy.
“All members of the National Assembly should resist that anti-democratic attempt and stand-up to defend our democracy,” he added. The governor berated his colleagues who are happy with the anti-democratic plots of the government, warning that it might be their turn tomorrow.
“Those governors happy with what is happening today should know that it will be their turn tomorrow. The same cabal will turn against these governors.
“This is condemnable and unacceptable to us. You must follow the set-down rules. You cannot talk about fighting corruption and refuse to respect the rule of law,” he concluded.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state yesterday condemned the invasion of the National Assembly by men of the Nigerian Police and Department of State Services (DSS) and urged all patriots to resist what he described as impunity.
“I condemn police invasion of the National Assembly and urge patriotic Nigerians to reject this impunity which is an assault on our democracy. We cannot afford to remain the laughing stock of the world”.
On his part, Ortom noted that a similar breach of democratic norms is also playing out in the Benue State House of Assembly, and stressed that if it is tolerated at the highest level, the impunity would spread across the country.
The governor wondered why the federal government sees nothing wrong with those defecting from the PDP to the APC but is bent on persecuting those leaving the ruling party.
Ortom described the action of the security agencies as an infringement on the fundamental right of freedom of association of Nigerians, which must be resisted.
He regretted that the presidency had denied any role in the Benue saga, but did not follow up with any sanctions for those responsible, making the denial suspect.
