PDP governors ask National Assembly to obey court orders, eschew impunity

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum has advised the hierarchy and the entire membership of the National Assembly to abide by the court order and stay away from interfering in the affairs of the Bauchi State House of Assembly.

In a statement, yesterday in Abuja, Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, on behalf of his colleagues, urged the National Assembly to comply with the court order.

He said: “We also call on the National Assembly to shelve the culture of impunity and lawlessness and show more respect for the rights of the people.

“Acting otherwise or delaying in respecting the order would represent a direct and serious affront to the rule of law in a democratic government and dangerous abuse of power; which Nigerians would see as “steadily emboldening a climate of impunity in governance, and strengthening the hands of those who unleash brutal force against democracy.

“However, impunity will not ‘change’ Nigeria for the better. Impunity breeds and feeds resentment and division, conflicts, radicalism and extremism and represents a revolving door for infinite cycles of violence. Impunity will only change Nigeria for the worse.”

A high court in Bauchi had on Monday, July 22, 2019, through an interim injunction granted by Justice Muazu Abubakar, issued an order restricting the lawmakers from wading into the leadership crisis in the Bauchi House of Assembly.

The order effectively stopped a committee set up by the lawmakers from proceeding with its assignment pending the ruling on a motion filed before it.

The court, however, said the parties involved in the crisis should halt all proceedings until October 3 when the court sits to hear the motion filed by the applicants.

Two speakers (Abubakar Suleiman and Kawuwa Shehu-Damina) emerged at the inauguration of Ninth Bauchi Assembly through parallel elections, prompting a 12-member House of Representatives Committee, headed by Sarkin-Adar, to be constituted with the mandate to find out the circumstances surrounding the development.