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Sunday, June 23, 2013

NGF: Accept defeat, Niger Delta group tells presidency

The Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC) has condemned what it called “the impunity and show of power in Rivers State” by the leaders of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the face-off between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

It also asked the Presidency and the governors to respect the outcome of the duly-conducted election of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), where Amaechi was re-elected as the chairman, but which President Jonathan was reportedly not comfortable with.
These were contained in the NDCSC’s communiqué in Port Harcourt yesterday, at the end of a special roundtable, with the theme: “Defending Democracy.” It was signed by the Chairman of the coalition, Anyakwee Nsirimovu and 23 others.
The Rivers governor defeated his Plateau State counterpart, Jonah Jang by 19 votes to 16, with the humiliation leading to the emergence of factional NGF, led by Jang, to cover the shame.
The NDCSC is a non-partisan, non-profit, non-governmental coalition of critical civil society organisations, drawn from across the communities of the nine states of the political Niger Delta region, academic community, labour unions and other stakeholders.
Members of the coalition are united in their vision of a just, equitable and indivisible people and in the building of effective participatory democracy, good governance, social, economic and political justice, and the respect and promotion of the fundamental human rights of all citizens and residents.
The communiqué read in part: “We call on the Presidency and all elected representatives of the people to end, the most undemocratic culture of impunity, by taking the rule of law and due process requirements seriously.
“NDCSC calls on the President to void forthwith, in the public interest, any practice or use of powers democratically and constitutionally entrusted upon him to govern, protect life and property of citizens in an abusive manner, or manipulating the same in settlement of political scores.
“We call on the Presidency and political elite to shun speeches that can be termed hate speech and have capacity to cause dissension, humiliate and or reduce the integrity of his office.
“NDCSC calls on the Presidency and governors to respect the outcome of a duly-conducted Nigeria Governors’ Forum election that is considered free, fair and credible. Therefore, leave positive examples for broader future elections.
“We call on the Presidency and colleagues to support the sustenance and consolidation of democracy that is accountable, respectful of the rule of law in which the constitution is supreme, all citizens are equal before the law, no one is above the law, corruption is minimised and punished, state authorities respect the rights of citizens.”
The coalition also called on the Presidency to take its responsibility to protect all Nigerian citizens, under both international law and the nation’s constitution most seriously, noting that the presidency should prevent, rather than stoke conflict in any guise whatsoever.
It also admonished Nigerian governors and legislators to respect the constitutional requirements for the third tier of government, stressing that the legislators and the relevant committees should effectively investigate suspicions, fraud and abuses within the state and local government agencies, under their jurisdiction.
The legislators were also tasked by the NDCSC to monitor the overall efficiency and integrity of government and allegations of wrongdoing in an objective, transparent and in accordance with the requirements of known statutes.
It urged Federal Government to effectively and efficiently conclude the amnesty programme in such a manner that its dangerous monetisation impact did not motivate peaceful and law-abiding young people into violence.
NDCSC also admonished the Presidency to take capacity seriously in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and ensure that the East-West Road and other critical infrastructure in the region were given priority attention, to ensure job creation for teeming millions of helpless and frustrated young people.
The group insisted that participation in the 2015 general elections should be based on performance, merit and all political parties should internalise democratic values and rule of law.
It called on the Police Service Commission and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, to ensure that the Nigeria Police in all of their ramifications did not assume the character of a political, omnipotent force, that would be master, rather than servant of the people, while declaring that officers found wanting should be dismissed forthwith.
The NDCSC also asked the National Judicial Commission, the Chief Justice of the Federation and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to guard judicial independence and integrity most jealously.
It added: “A democratic rule of law requires a judiciary that is, at every level, neutral, independent from political influence, and reasonably competent and resourceful.
“Most of all, it requires a constitutional court, willing to constrain the power of the mighty and defend the rights of the meek.”


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