Former National Vice Chairman, Northwest, of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Salihu Lukman, says Senate President Godswill Akpabio has reduced the Nigerian Senate to a parastatal under the President Bola Tinubu APC-led administration.
Lukman’s accusation follows the sack of the Senate Whip, Mohammed Ndume by the Abdullahi Ganduje-led National Working Committee NWC of the party.
In a statement on Thursday in Abuja titled; “Fanatical Mindset”, the former APC chieftain charged all patriotic Nigerians to wake up to the responsibility of rescuing the country.
According to him, Nigerians should not allow a situation where so-called leaders of the ruling party behave like officials of military tribunals who operate with the fanatical mindset of condemning everyone accused of wrongdoing without the benefit of a fair hearing.
He said it was quite interesting that the APC national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje could ask Ndume to honourably resign his membership of the party and join any opposition party of his choice formally.
Lukman further stated that it was not found anywhere in the constitution of the party that the National Chairman, National Secretary, or any official, or even the National Working Committee is given the powers to summarily remove any principal officer of the National Assembly.
He added that it was a shame that the APC Senate Caucus would permit such an act of illegality, stressing that by doing so, they have set a precedent that would further erode the independence of the National Assembly.
“Already, with the way Sen. Godswill Akpabio has been conducting himself almost reducing the Senate Chamber to the status of a parastatal of government, the action of the APC under the leadership of Dr Ganduje to direct removal of principal officers for criticizing President Tinubu’s government highlights the fanatical mindset undermining Nigerian democracy.
“Any democracy that cannot accommodate criticisms is no democracy. A democracy that subverts fair hearing is a dictatorship. A democracy that permits a ruling party to demobilize its organs and inadvertently expels its members is worse than a military government. All patriotic Nigerian political leaders must unite to restore Nigeria’s democracy.
“Nigerian opposition leaders must unite to build a truly strong political party to rebuild Nigerian democracy. All our opposition leaders and orphaned leaders of APC must come together and unite. Sen. Ndume being the newest APC orphan is welcome to join the efforts of political leaders in the country to restore and rebuild our democracy,” he said.