The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the inauguration of only 11 out of the 31 Members of Bauchi State House of Assembly and only 9 out of the 24 Members of Edo State House of Assembly.
APC said it viewed this illegality with shock and disappointment and as a party that has made a commitment to change, it strongly reject any attempt to take recourse to brigandage of the past, when democratic practices were defined by the inordinate whims of people in power.
Lanre Issa-Onilu, APC National Publicity Secretary in a statement described the action as unfortunate reminder of PDP’s queer brand of democracy, stressing that practices like this are unacceptable under APC-led administration and the party would use all democratic means necessary to ensure the right thing is done.
Issa-Onilu called on the Governors of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki and Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed to urgently issue a proper letter of proclamation to allow for the lawful inauguration of the respective state House of Assembly and subsequent election of presiding officers in a transparent manner.
“Perhaps the actors in the inauguration sham in Edo and Bauchi States need to be reminded of the recent and widely-commended election of presiding officers in the newly-inaugurated 9th National Assembly. Our party has set new standards in party politics by upstaging the rule of force, while upholding the rule of law.
“It needs restating that every elected lawmaker has a legitimate right to participate unhindered in the inauguration of the legislative arm in which he/she belongs. The plot to arm-twist the majority in favour of the minority in the legislative arm died with the defeat of the PDP in 2015”, the APC Spokesman added.
