The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has commended Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for doing what was right, following the termination of the appointment of Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Lawal Daura.
Senator Saraki gave the commendation on Wednesday at a press conference in Abuja, while reacting to the barricade of the National Assembly by security operatives.
“I thank the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, for his handling of the situation we were all confronted with yesterday,” he said in a statement jointly signed by him and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara.
“His (Osinbajo) decisive action went a long way towards restoring confidence. It sent a powerful message – that the DSS cannot be recklessly deployed against institutions of our democracy. Mr Acting President did the right thing.”
The Senate President noted that the path of leadership was not by party, stressing that such must be commended wherever it was found.
He, however, however, said the damage control so far does not address the question of how such an incident happened in the first place.
Saraki advised the Federal Government to concentrate more on moving the nation forward rather than what he described as a ‘show of force’.
He said, “So many rungs of the ladder that we are supposed to have ascended as a nation but instead, we are swallowing in impunity and illegal show of force, all of which retard our progress.”
Dr Saraki also described the barricade as an act of cowardice by those seeking to carry out an illegal impeachment of the leadership of the Senate against the provisions of the law.
He stated that while much was expected of the nation, the individuals were allegedly seeking control at all costs and not considering the injury to democratic norms.
The lawmaker, however, commended Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for responding to the incident promptly, although the damage control was not enough to address the matter.
He also thanked Nigerians for their reaction and vowed that the National Assembly would not relent in its effort of fighting impunity and injustice in the country.
Saraki said, “Some of you may recall that about two years ago or three years ago, I stated that there was a government within this government, to a purpose that was not in the interest of what the people voted for.”
“Despite the threat to our lives, we shall continue to fight impunity and injustice in this country. Happily, by the actions that Nigerians took yesterday, they demonstrated our strong resolve as a nation not to give ground to oppression,” he added.
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