Inauguration of Edo, Bauchi Houses of Assembly a Charade, Says APC

By Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned what it called the charade being presented as the inauguration of new State Houses of Assembly in Edo and Bauchi States.

To this end, the party therefore called on the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki and his counterpart in Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, to urgently do the needful by issuing 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.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in a statement Friday said the national leadership of the party viewed this illegality with shock and dissapointment.

The party said that perhaps the actors in the inauguration sham in Edo and Bauchi States needed to be reminded of the recent and widely-commended election of presiding officers in the newly-inaugurated 9th National Assembly, adding that the ruling party has set new standards in party politics by upstaging the rule of force, while upholding the rule of law.

Issa-Onilu stated: “As a party that has made a commitment to change, we strongly reject any attempt to take a recourse to brigandage of the past, when democratic practices were defined by the inordinate whims of people in power.

“Democracy must be governed by the rule of law. A situation where 11 lawmakers in the 31-member Bauchi State House of Assembly and nine lawmakers in the 24-member Edo State House of Assembly were secretly ‘inaugurated’ and purportedly ‘elect’ principal officers behind closed doors is a joke and an embarrassment.

“It is an unfortunate reminder of PDP’s queer brand of democracy. Practices like this are unacceptable under APC-led administration. As a party that is committed to higher ideals, we would use all democratic means necessary to ensure the right thing is done.”

The party restated that every elected lawmaker has a legitimate right to participate unhindered in the inauguration of the legislative arm in which he belongs, saying that 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.