Rivers Crisis: APC Directs Members To Block Confirmation Of Jonathan’s Nominees, 2014 Budget

The All Progressives Congress has directed its members in the National Assembly to “to block all legislative proposals including the 2014 Budget and confirmation of all nominees to military and civilian positions to public office until the rule of law and constitutionalism is restored in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria in general.”

DailyPost recalls that President Goodluck Jonathan had earlier presented the 2014 budget to the Legislature through the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

He also sent a list of 12 ministerial nominees as well as names of new Service Chiefs for confirmation.

But miffed over the ongoing crisis in River State, the party in a communiqué after the 8th regular meeting of its Interim National Executive Committee held in Abuja on Thursday, charged its legislators to stop work on all proposals from the executive.

The communiqué signed by Alh. Lai Mohammed,Interim National Publicity Secretary said “The National Executive Committee of the APC commended the courage, maturity and political sagacity of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State in the face of serial unprovoked and unwarranted assaults on his person, his constitutional rights and those of the Government and People of Rivers State. The conduct of Governor Amaechi represents our Party’s maturity and compliance with the rule of law in response to escalating impunity. The APC is very proud of him.”

It said “Any cursory observer of events in Rivers State since February, 2013 will be left in no doubt as to the culture of lawlessness and impunity being promoted and supported by the Presidency, and executed by the State Commissioner of Police Joseph Mbu, who has become the defacto military Governor of Rivers State and sole administrator of the PDP in the State.

“A few instances of the brazen lawlessness and violations of the Constitution will suffice here – the forceful dispersal of 13,201 newly recruited teachers in the Port Harcourt Stadium using tear gas; blockading the entrance to the Government House in Port Harcourt and forcing the State Governor to use another entrance; preventing an aircraft chartered by the State Governor from taking off, alleging that the Governor was trying to smuggle out a legislator wanted by the Police, no apology was offered to the Governor, the disruption of a peaceful rally during which Senator Magnus Abe was shot with intent to kill; the several disruptions of Save Rivers Group rallies, and the unlawful detention of anybody perceived to be a sympathizer of Governor Rotimi Amaechi, while allowing pro-Jonathan an Anti-Amaechi groups to organize rallies unmolested.

The communiqué added that “The National Executive Committee of the APC has now resolved that if this acts of impunity and lawlessness continue unabated and the Police persists in being as an enforcement arm of the PDP to the detriment of our members, it will have no alternative than to ask our teeming members all over the country and especially in Rivers State to take whatever steps that are necessary to protect their lives and property.

“Following on the forgoing and in view of the joint resolutions of the National Assembly on Rivers State, and other constitutional breaches by the Presidency, the APC hereby directs its members in the National Assembly to block all legislative proposals including the 2014 Budget and confirmation of all nominees to military and civilian positions to public office until the rule of law and constitutionalism is restored in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria in general.

Those in attendance were General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the Governors of Rivers, Lagos, Edo, Nasarawa, Kwara, Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Sokoto, Ekiti, Ogun and the Deputy Governors of Oyo, Imo, Kano and Zamfara and other Party leaders.

The meeting was chaired by the Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande and attended by the full compliment of the Interim National Executive Committee alongside the leadership of the APC in the two chambers of the National Assembly.

PDP Kicks

Reacting to the directive, the ruling party said the decision of the APC National Executive was a direct call for anarchy and a vindication of its earlier position that the opposition was out to destroy the institution of democracy and the unity of the nation.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Thursday night, said that with the anti people directives, Nigerians can now see that the PDP was not crying wolf when it alerted Nigerians that the APC does not mean well for the nation.

The PDP said “in asking that service chiefs should not be confirmed by the Senate, the APC has revealed its devilish plot to undermine the nation’s security system, create a state of anarchy and pave way to unleash mayhem on the people”.

The ruling party said “in trying to frustrate the passage of the 2014 budget, the APC has also exposed its plot to cripple the nation’s economy and plunge the people into untold hardship”

It added that by attempting to cause confusion in the legislature, which is the citadel of democracy, it is now clear to all Nigerians that the APC has commenced the implementation of its orchestrated plot to truncate the nation’s democracy, push the country into a state chaos and achieve its doomsday predictions; a plot which the party said must be stopped.

Daily Post