The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, a coalition of northern youth groups, has described the invasion of the National Assembly as “a desperate bid to launch a coup against a democratically elected Senate President.
The position of the forum which was made available to the media by its National President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, states that the move against Sen. Bukola Saraki was a smear on decorum, anti-thetical to democracy and its institutions. Emphasizing that it was a clear case of treasonable felony against our collective conscience, condemnable in the strongest of words and a ridicule on our image as a democratic and independent nation.
The statement further reads “We suspect enemies of democracy behind the desperate bid to use force in grabbing power out of the hand of the Senate President.
“In view of the above and a lot more, our position now is:-
1. We commend the Acting President Yomi Osinbajo’s prompt response to the brigandage of the Lawal Daura’s gestapo style of truncating democracy.
2. We call for stiff sanctions by way of arrests of other collaborators in this national ridicule, notably Abba Kyari Senator Abu Ibrahim, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, Godswill Akpabio, Senator Ahmed Lawan, Adams Oshiomhole and Abba Kyari, in order to send the right signals that the long arm of law is set to catch up with the lawbreakers in our midst.
3.We call for the immediate setting up of a special panel of Inques to deal with this brazen impunity. Meanwhile, we still look forward to series of arrests of other principal suspects in this uncivilized militarization and impunity against the Senate President and the institution of the National Assembly, whether within or outside the corridors of power.
4. We make bold to say that any action short of arresting the political desperados behind this uncivilized, disgraceful incident at the National Assembly and against the Number Three most-respected office in the land, should be resisted by our compatriots
5. We urge the Acting President to stick to his guns regarding efforts to ensure compliance with constitutional provisions and dealing ruthlessly with abuse of office by any government official, no matter how highly-placed.
Read full text of statement below.
*MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE AREWA YOUTH CONSULTATIVE FORUM ON THE INVASION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY*
Our close look at the unfolding siege on the National Assembly in a desperate bid to launch a coup against a democratically elected Senate President Bukola Saraki was a smear on decorum, anti-thetical to democracy and its institutions. This clear case of treasonable felony against our collective conscience is condemnable in the strongest of words. It has once again ridiculed our image as a democratic and independent nation.
We suspect enemies of democracy behind the desperate bid to use force in grabbing power out of the hand of the Senate President.
In view of the above and a lot more, our position now is:-
1. We commend the Acting President Yomi Osinbajo’s prompt response to the brigandage of the Lawal Daura’s gestapo style of truncating democracy.
2. We call for stiff sanctions by way of arrests of other collaborators in this national ridicule, notably Abba Kyari Senator Abu Ibrahim, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, Godswill Akpabio, Senator Ahmed Lawan, Adams Oshiomhole and Abba Kyari, in order to send the right signals that the long arm of law is set to catch up with the lawbreakers in our midst.
3.We call for the immediate setting up of a special panel of Inques to deal with this brazen impunity. Meanwhile, we still look forward to series of arrests of other principal suspects in this uncivilized militarization and impunity against the Senate President and the institution of the National Assembly, whether within or outside the corridors of power.
4. We make bold to say that any action short of arresting the political desperados behind this uncivilized, disgraceful incident at the National Assembly and against the Number Three most-respected office in the land, should be resisted by our compatriots
5. We urge the Acting President to stick to his guns regarding efforts to ensure compliance with constitutional provisions and dealing ruthlessly with abuse of office by any government official, no matter how highly-placed.
Signed
Alhahi Yerima Shettima
National President