The Deputy Senate President, Ike
Ekweremadu, has reacted to the statement credited to him insinuating
possibility of a military take over in the country.
Ekweremadu, speaking over the
weekend at the Diepreye Alaimeyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Onopa, during a
dinner hosted by Governor Henry Seriake Dickson for members of the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association, said his comments on the floor of the Senate were
misconstrued.
He stressed that he would never
make derogatory statements against the Nigerian military, urging that
statements made by lawmakers in the course of their duty should be situated
within the proper context before any form of reaction.
Ekweremadu maintained that his
remarks on the floor of the Senate chambers were to caution politicians to
avoid the mistakes of the past, which inevitably led to the abrupt end of the
First Republic.
He said “Before I close, let me
just tell you one unfortunate incident that happened last week.
“We had one of our colleagues
from Kogi who was hosting a constituency briefing and empowerment.
“He alleged that the government
sponsored thugs to come and chase away people and destroy the programme and
equipment he bought for his people.
“We condemned such acts,
especially where, in a particular case, the property of a parliamentarian was destroyed.
“We condemned a case whereby
parliamentarians were stopped from holding meetings and where a parliamentarian
was stopped from coming to a state where he was governor for eight years.
“We warned that it was this kind
of reckless abuse of power and impunity that scuttled our democracy earlier,
especially in the First Republic and I cautioned that politicians should not
take things for granted.
“Of course, some people took it
out of context and said I was calling for a military coup.
“I never called for a military
coup. I never said the military was planning any coup.
“If you read some parts of the
military statement, they admitted that my statement and contributions were only
cautionary and that we were sincere, but, they went as far as saying the
international community should ignore me.”
Meanwhile, reactions have
continued trailed the deputy President’s statement.
The Nigerian army said the
statement by Ekweremadu was derogatory to the Army and by extension to the
Armed Forces of Nigeria.
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