The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has asked President Bola Tinubu to reverse the emergency rule he declared in Rivers State, saying it is unconstitutional and undemocratic.
The party chairman, Ralphs Okey Nwosu, who stated this during the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Thursday, also condemned Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension and asked Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to recall her.
Nwosu, who paid tributes to the two late elder statesmen, Chief Edwin Clark and Pa Ayo Adebanjo, said the void created by their passing remains deep and wide. He added that they had forewarned Nigerians about recent undemocratic events in the country.
On the state of emergency in Rivers and Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension, he said, “Today, however, we owe our democracy and the people of Nigeria a sacred duty, which is to call President Bola Tinubu to immediately restore the elected Government of Rivers state to office without any delay.
“The emergency rule is undemocratic, unconstitutional and callous. In the same vein, we call on the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio to immediately recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. The entire Senate must apologize to her and constitute a panel to look into her sexual harassment complaint against their President.”
He said Nigerians cannot allow a few men to continue to bring the nation of over 200 million men and women to ridicule.
“We implore Senator Akpabio and President Tinubu to help save our democracy and let our people breathe,” he said.
Reflecting on the demise of Clark and Adebanjo, Nwosu, who described recent events in Nigeria as tragic, said “These two men forewarned us.”
He continued, “Unfortunately, we allowed the voodoo spell of a few to overshadow this great country, even in a democracy. If we were in a military regime, it would have been a different cup of tea.
“But to say that over 70 million adult Nigerians with PVC were helpless in 2023 and today has become over 100 million, suggests Nigerians ignorance and complacency. I know about collusion, President Bola Tinubu received about 8 million votes despite the warning of Pa Adebanjo. There is fire on the mounting, people are dying out of hunger and security breakdown, including the 8 million voters.
“As leaders we have an important role to play to reverse the deadly malaise that is crippling our nation. We must not allow APC with their 8 million votes to overrun this country and derail our democracy. With over 80 million adult Nigerians on our side, we are determined to reverse this trend, reclaim our country, and position it for greatness. More than half of their so-called supporters have already pledged to work with ADC once they are assured of our sincerity,” the ADC chairman noted.
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