The Presidential candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar has condemned President Muhammadu
Buhari over his response to the foreign interference on the suspension of Chief
Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.
The
international community, including the United States, the European Union and
the United Kingdom over the weekend expressed serious concern over the
suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.
But, Buhari in a statement issued
by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba
Shehu on Saturday, warned against foreign interference into the nation’s
affairs.
The president noted that foreign
interference was capable of creating apprehension, distrust among citizens and
undermining the transparency and acceptability of outcomes of the nation’s
electoral process.
Atiku, reacting to Buhari’s
statement, reminded the president of celebrating commendations and statements
from UK,EU during the 2015 elections.
In a statement he personally
signed on Sunday, Atiku said: “To those who accuse these governments of
interfering, I remind them that they made no such accusations when they
celebrated a statement from the US/UK/EU calling for free and fair elections in
2015, just after the postponement of the 2015 elections to make room for a
final assault against Boko Haram. What has changed between then and now, except
that they are now in power.”
The former Vice President also
noted that his fight against suspension of Onnoghen is for the protection of
the nation’s constitution.
“I am not fighting for Justice
Onnoghen. I am fighting for the constitution. Once we open the Pandora’s Box of
unconstitutionality, we cannot tell where it will end.
“This scenario appears to me like
déjà vu. Under a particularly brutal military dictatorship, Nigerians witnessed
the illegal and arbitrary removal of many innocent people from their positions
of authority and many said nothing because they were not from the ethnic group
of those affected.
“I remember speaking up then that
what we know is when the rain begins, but we do not know when it will end. My
warnings were ignored by some until they woke up one day and that dictator
removed no less a personality than the Sultan of Sokoto.
“It is worth pointing out that
Muhammadu Buhari was by his side when he did that. He obviously learned very
well from his teacher.
“If they come for the heads of
the legislature and we keep quiet because we are not legislators, if they came
for the heads of the media and we keep quiet because we are not journalists, if
they came for the head of the judiciary and we keep quiet because he/she is not
from our area, there may be no one left to speak up when they come for us,” he
said.
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