Former President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki has described the crisis in the Plateau State House of Assembly, which has kept the parliament under lock and key, as an embarrassment to Nigeria after practising democracy for 21 years.
Saraki stated this in a statement issued on Saturday by the Head of his Media Office, Yusuph Olaniyonu.
He stated that if the issues that led to the crisis had happened in the first few years after the return of democracy in 1999, it would have been excusable as part of the learning curve.
The statement was titled, ‘Saraki: After 22 Years of Democracy, Plateau Assembly Crisis, Huge Embarrassment to Nigeria.’
Also Read: Youths Storm Plateau Assembly To Protest Speaker’s Impeachment
He said, “The Plateau crisis should be viewed in a larger context. It is not about Governor Simon Lalong with whom I have a personal relationship and enjoy mutual respect, neither is it about the two claimants to the office of Speaker of the State House of Assembly nor their supporters in the legislature. It is even bigger than Plateau State or any individual.
“The issue is about how the world sees us as a serious democratic country. It is about whether the rest of the world will see us as a people who lack respect for due process and therefore incapable of putting the provisions of our constitution to work on simple matters.
He continued, “How can we, after 21 years of democracy, be talking of the impeachment of a Speaker by six or eight members – whatever is the correct figure here – in a 24-member legislature, and a picture of a parliamentary proceeding to impeach the Speaker holding at 7 am?
“We should all speak against the flagrant disregard for due process and lack of respect for the provisions of the constitution. This is the reason why we make a simple issue complex.”
via: Information Nigeria
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