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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Abia State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has cried out over recent events at the Abia State House of Assembly, saying the House is under siege by Governor Alex Otti and the Labour Party.
The PDP said the events were against the rules of governance and capable of disturbing the peace in the State.
In a statement signed by Abraham Amah, Abia PDP Vice Chairman/Acting State Publicity Secretary, the party recalled that in Wednesday, in a brazen display of political ruthlessness and unimaginable intolerance, the Speaker of the Abia House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emeruwa “connived with the governor and brought in security men to the floor of the House during plenary with the sole aim to intimidate members of the opposition, especially the PDP”.
The party said to make matters worse, they locked out members of press who belong to the Fourth Estate of the Realm and by convention, stakeholders whose duties were to inform, educate and entertain members of the public and in the process build a stronger ecology of social change for growth and progress of society.
The PDP noted that the approved duty of security men at the House of Assembly is to safeguard lives and property within the periphery of the complex and not to assume the role of political censors in the floor of the hallowed chamber during plenary. “This is unheard of and should be condemned by every well meaning democrat”.
It said that lawmakers should have unfettered freedom and right to speech in the floor of the House to enable them make good laws for the good governance of the State.
“This despicable act is not only undemocratic, obnoxious, unacceptable and unwarranted but also signposts a precipitous descent to autocracy and a possible state of anarchy when democratic forces resist these glaring aberrations that stare Abians in the face each passing day and with utter defiance.
“This latest resort to a draconian use of force to teleguide proceedings in the House of Assembly is one too many, and a flagrant disregard for the independence of the legislature.
“Governor Alex Otti and the Labour Party should understand clearly that Abia State does not belong to the Labour Party alone and that our representatives in the House of Assembly from different political parties are stakeholders who represent different social and political interests which must be accorded the respects they deserve for normalcy and decency to prevail. Their efforts to convert Abia State into a one-party state would end in shameful futility because we would not allow that to happen”.
The Abia PDP called on heads of security agencies in the State, especially the Police Commissioner and the Director of the Directorate of State Services (DSS) to call their men to order and restrain them from overzealousness that would bring the integrity of the forces into question.
