SAO Petitions Buhari, Lawan, CJN Over plight Of Edo Lawmakers-Elect

A civil rights group, Strategic Advocacy Outreach (SAO) has written to President Muhammdu Buhari; the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammad Tank, to intervene in what the body described as the desecration of democratic institutions in Edo State.

Guardian reports that the group said the blatant and appalling disregard for democracy is now the status quo in Edo State, where elections and constitutional demands have been effectively undermined and replaced by partisan preferences.

Their petition, signed by John Mayaki, was addressed to leaders of the three arms of government, as well as the Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; National Judicial Council, Nigerian Bar Association, the World Bank, and other Development Partners, the Diplomatic Society, the Progressive Governors Forum and the Governors Forum among other well-meaning Nigerians and agencies.

SAO recalled how in 2019, the people of Edo State took part in a process that represents the cornerstone of Nigeria’s democracy and freely elected 24 individuals to defend their interests in the state’s legislative assembly.

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It noted that the process and its outcome, specifically the emergence of the 24 would-be lawmakers, received the endorsement and commendation of all, including the Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

However, the petitioners regretted that in the days leading to the constitutionally-defined process of swearing-in and inauguration of the elected members, Obaseki, driven entirely by politics and a desire for absolute control, embarked on a series of moves that threw the legislative arm into a protracted crisis.

While noting that the development placed Edo State and Nigeria’s democracy in great jeopardy, the group urged the president and other recipients of the petition to intervene in the matter.

Part of the petition read: “To allow these members sit out a full term without serving the interests of their people is to imperil democracy and embolden others who, like Mr. Godwin Obaseki, would be desirous of unchecked and limitless powers.

“With the term of the excluded members about to expire, despite not having served a single day of the mandate they freely won, the governor is on the verge of winning this assault on democracy.

“His victory, if allowed to be perfected, will set a dangerous precedence that could, in a matter of years, set Nigeria firmly on the path of dictatorship where one man could use the very instruments of democracy to undermine it by placing other arms, and other important freedoms; on a leash.”