ACN asks N’ Assembly to study proclamation, S’East PDP okays action

[TGD]

 • Northern elders caution against military deployment

ECHOING its resentment over the declaration of emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged the members of the National Assembly to carefully study the order by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Meanwhile, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), South East zone Thursday condemned calls from certain quarters on the National Assembly to reject the bill on state of emergency, and advised them to desist from seeking cheap popularity from serious national issues.

In a related development, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has cautioned the Federal Government against the deployment of military troops in the troubled areas such that it may eventually destabilise the civilian population in the area.

They, however, said that they were ready to constitute a team to monitor the activities of soldiers under the emergency rule in the affected states.

The ACN in a statement in Abuja yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai

Mohammed said: ''Members of the federal legislature, as the true representatives of the people, must decide - purely on the basis of facts rather than sentiments - whether or not the emergency rule is the best option to resolve the Boko Haram crisis. Truly understanding the proclamation will enable them to make an informed decision when the issue is brought before them."

It said that the emergency rule, which is essentially martial law, has castrated democracy in the affected states, even though the democratic structures have been left largely intact.

ACN said the Jonathan administration, realising the groundswell of opposition that will be triggered if the governors and the Houses of Assembly members were sacked, decided to pull the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting Nigerians by leaving the elected officials in place even under the emergency rule.

''In practice, it was a monumental deception. First, the democratic structures left in place are of no use in a state under martial law; Secondly, the proclamation did not give a time frame, meaning that the emergency rule is open-ended and can last as long as the President wishes. After all, the emergency rule imposed on 15 local councils in four states was never lifted.   Thirdly, now that the President has tested the water and realised people could be so easily hoodwinked, what prevents him from extending the emergency rule to other states that catch his fancy?

The PDP stated that the action of the President in declaring state of emergency   in the three states signalled a new and decisive showdown against Boko Haram, adding that it called for the support of every Nigerian.

In a letter of solidarity to his North East counterpart, the National Vice Chairman of the party in the Southeast, Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd.) commended Jonathan for consulting all relevant stakeholders before taking the action.

He added that his decision to leave the elected government structures in the three affected states intact confirmed his legacy as a truly democratic leader.

In a statement after its meeting in Kaduna, the ACF's Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Hajiya Fati Ibrahim, said: "The ACF takes notice of the proclamation of the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by the Federal Government on the grounds that attacks and killings by insurgents and other terrorist groups require more massive military response.

The ACF, however, added: "The meeting was concerned that the President appears to invest more faith in a military solution even where evidence from our experiences so far bears no such optimism".

"It is the hope of the ACF therefore that the Federal Government does not consider the increased military deployments as a superior option or alternative to the slower and more tedious path of dialogue, negotiation and conciliation. Given the dismal history of peace-making campaigns by the military all over the world, dispatching battalion after battalion to the field in the hope of combating insurgents or terrorists, sound naïve".



The Guardian