National leader of the All
Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has sent a powerful message to
Governor Godwin Obaseki, berating and accusing him of gravely assaulting democracy
and making a mockery of the Nigerian constitution.
He said Obaseki’s governance of
Edo has been a throwback to the worst excesses of Nigeria’s military past and
represents a direct threat to the democratic order.
Tinubu described Obaseki as an
errant, ill disciplined governor and a dictator, who has been contemptuous of
the people of Edo state.
In a statement he personally signed, Tinubu said Obaseki adopted the strong arm tactics of dictators, by first of all, blocking the inauguration of two-thirds of the assembly and then importing thugs, to deface and destroy parts of the assembly.
“Then, he imports sand and
gravels to prevent access to the assembly complex. In effect, the man has spent
state funds to thwart the very apparatus of the state government he was sworn
to uphold. He has squandered public money to defeat the very will of the
public. This is tragic beyond words”, Tinubu said.
“As a pretext for his refusal to
allow the Edo House of Assembly to function, Governor Obaseki’s actions are
perverse.
“This is a cowardly act and a
move to thwart representative democracy in Edo. No renovation has been planned
for the state house building. No appropriation was made in the state’s budget.
The only reason any renovation could be deemed necessary is the destruction
wrought by his own goons”.
Tinubu then offered some quick
tutorial to Obaseki on the meaning of representative government and the
importance of the legislature.
Read the full statement entitled
In Defence of Constitutional Democracy:
The recent actions of the
Governor of Edo State represent the gravest possible assault on constitutional
democracy and the rule of law and escalation of violence and tension in the
state he purports to govern. Not satisfied with making a mockery of our
constitution by blocking the timely inauguration of two-thirds of the elected
members of the Edo State House of Assembly, Governor Obaseki has now resorted
to the strong-arm tactics of dictators.
First, he sponsors hoodlums to
deface, indeed destroy, parts of the House of Assembly Building in Benin,
feigning the building is undergoing renovation. Then, he imports sand and
gravels to prevent access to the assembly complex. In effect, the man has spent
state funds to thwart the very apparatus of the state government he was sworn
to uphold. He has squandered public money to defeat the very will of the
public. This is tragic beyond words.
As a pretext for his refusal to
allow the Edo House of Assembly to function, Governor Obaseki’s actions are
perverse. This is a cowardly act and a move to thwart representative democracy
in Edo. No renovation has been planned for the state house building. No
appropriation was made in the state’s budget. The only reason any renovation
could be deemed necessary is the destruction wrought by his own goons.
Governor Obaseki’s governance of
Edo State recalls the worst excesses of our military past and represents a
direct threat to the democratic order. By his refusal to permit duly elected
members of the Edo State House of Assembly to perform their constitutional
duties, Governor Obaseki betrayed contempt for the people of his state and,
unfortunately, his ignorance of Nigeria’s constitutional order. As a Governor
he ought to know better than to obstruct the functioning of his own
legislature, but perhaps he is in need of a quick lesson.
The legislative function is,
perhaps, the most foundational obligation of any government. In the UK, the
Parliament was famously said to be “that supreme and absolute power, which
gives life and motion to the English government”. In most democratic systems,
the legislature is the arm of government containing within itself the people’s
representatives in government. As such, the legislative arm is critical. It is
an important symbol of democratic governance. The voice, will and desires of
the people are reposed in their elected representatives sent to the legislature
to express and distil their amorphous will into the laws and codes by which the
society has agreed to live.
In the context of a
constitutional democracy such as ours, the legislature’s authority stems, in
effect, from the recognition that it is the authentic mouthpiece of the people,
entrusted with the responsibility of representing their collective will and the
power to interpret and mould it into the laws of the land. It is, in short, not
to be toyed with as a plaything of an errant and ill-disciplined governor.
Undermine the legislature and you imperil democracy and allow governance to
descend into anarchy.
In placing himself above the
legislature, deciding who gets in and who is shut out, Governor Obaseki not
only places himself above the our nation’s constitutional order, he places
himself above the people of Edo State whose representatives he so brazenly
tramples upon. One can only wonder, given the desperation with which he has
acted and his belligerent refusal to honour the free choice of the people of
his own state, what mortal offence the majority members he has shut out have
committed to warrant such treatment.
Indeed, it is no coincidence that
of the three arms of government, the powers of the legislature are enumerated
first, in our Constitution. The legislature is the authority imbued with the
power to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of the federation
and states. Indeed, the Constitution makes clear that a Governor’s role
primarily extends to the maintenance and implementation of the laws set down
for him by his state’s legislature.
In placing himself above the
legislature, deciding who gets in and who is shut out, Governor Obaseki not
only places himself above the our nation’s constitutional order, he places
himself above the people of Edo State whose representatives he so brazenly
tramples upon. One can only wonder, given the desperation with which he has
acted and his belligerent refusal to honour the free choice of the people of
his own state, what mortal offence the majority members he has shut out have
committed to warrant such treatment.
Although Governor Obaseki’s
conduct in the past year is undoubtedly impeachable, these legislators have
made no threat to impeach the Governor. Their only desire is to peacefully
perform the duties asked of them by the constituents who elected them. What,
then, is their offence? By all appearances, the Governor is punishing these
legislators for their loyalty to a party that is no longer his own. If every
governor behaves as he, obstructing the performance of any legislator who does
not pledge to him their undying fealty, the entire edifice of democratic
governance in Nigeria would grind to a complete halt.
In his campaign for re-election,
Governor Obaseki promises to represent and defend the interests of all the
people of his state. Yet, so blinded is he by his personal ambition, he sees no
irony in the fact that his actions have denied two-thirds of the people of his
state their right to representation in the state’s only legislative chamber.
Although Governor Obaseki’s
conduct in the past year is undoubtedly impeachable, these legislators have
made no threat to impeach the Governor. Their only desire is to peacefully
perform the duties asked of them by the constituents who elected them. What,
then, is their offence? By all appearances, the Governor is punishing these
legislators for their loyalty to a party that is no longer his own. If every
governor behaves as he, obstructing the performance of any legislator who does
not pledge to him their undying fealty, the entire edifice of democratic
governance in Nigeria would grind to a complete halt
Governor Obaseki must think the
people of his state to be as foolhardy and ignorant as he, for even as he
courts their votes, he continues to make a mockery of the institution of
democracy in his own House of Assembly. If Governor Obaseki believes the people
are not aware of this inherent irony, he will undoubtedly learn the cost of
this grave miscalculation in the fullness of time.
The rule of law and preservation
of democracy is too important to sacrifice at the altar of any one man’s
ambition. Governor Obaseki’s woeful leadership of Edo State will hopefully be
brought to an end soon by the very people whose rights he has so carelessly
trampled upon. One can only hope that the damage he is doing to the most
important of the state’s democratic institutions can just as easily be
repaired.
SIGNED
ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU
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The worst politician Nigeria ever had is Tinubu. So selfish and irresponsible. The refusal of Edo people to be a tool in tinubu's had is responsible for his hatred of the governor and the truth is there is nothing he can do. Edo will never be Lagos and at the end, it is going to bring destruction to those supporting him and Oshiomhole.
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