TheNewsGuru

Tag: Democracy

  • Democracy Celebrations: FG declares Monday public holiday

    The Federal Government has declared Monday, May 29,2017 as a public holiday to celebrate the 2017 Democracy Day.

    Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.) in a statement on Thursday in Abuja congratulated Nigerians for witnessing yet another Democracy Day which marked the second anniversary of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

    Dambazau in the statement by the Director Overseeing the Permanent Secretary’s Office, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido assured Nigerians of the government’s continued efforts towards guaranteeing security, revitalizing the economy and tackling corruption.

    He noted that a lot had been achieved in the area of security, particularly in the northeast, and in tackling corruption, adding that recent statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated tremendous improvement in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

    The minister said, “No doubt, the nation is closer to getting out of recession, particularly with the recently launched Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which seeks to revitalize the nation’s economy soonest.

    “With the recently signed Executive Orders on Ease of Doing Business, we have opened our doors wider for both domestic and foreign investors.”

    Dambazau admonished the citizens to join hands with President Buhari “in his sustained efforts in building a peaceful and enduring democratic legacy.”

    He wished all Nigerians a happy Democracy Day celebration.

  • Reinstating Sheriff as PDP Chairman is ‘rape on democracy’ – Fayose

    Reinstating Sheriff as PDP Chairman is ‘rape on democracy’ – Fayose

    The chairman of the Governors Forum of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the Appeal Court, Port Harcourt judgement reinstating Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff as National Chairman of the party, as a `rape on democracy’.

    Ayo Fayose, who is also Ekiti State Governor, made the remark in Abuja on Friday while reacting to the outcome of the judgement.

    According to Fayose, the judgment was against the will of the people.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt in a ruling Friday nullified PDP National Convention held in the Rivers capital in May 2016. The court also nullified the National Caretaker Committee of the party constituted at the convention, and held that Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff remains the National Chairman of PDP.

    Two out of the three-member Appeal Court, Justice B.G. Sanga and Justice A. Gumel, in their judgment said the Port Harcourt convention on May 21, 2016, was an abuse of court process.

    Delivering the lead judgment, Sanga said that PDP did not follow the provisions of Article 47(3) of its Constitution in the removal of the Sherrif-led National Working Committee.

    Fayose, however, said that the party would appeal the judgment in the Supreme Court.

    “If the people truly symbolise what a party is, then the machinations of our detractors and the anti-democracy organs will not prevail at last.

    “We commend the minority judgment of the lower court and we believe the truth will prevail. It is a matter of time.

    “Thank God we have another opportunity to seek justice at the Supreme Court, which I believe will not be delayed or denied, because when justice is delayed it is denied.

    “It is a party matter that must be addressed as soon as possible.

    “The party will appeal the judgement as we believe in the ability of the judiciary to do justice,’’ Fayose said.

    The governor however, appealed to members, sympathisers, leaders and supporters of the PDP to remain calm saying “we are sure justice will come at last’’.

    “If this is the price to pay, to keep our democracy alive and opposition strengthened, we are prepared to go the whole hug and for a time like this,’’ the governor said.

    Fayose said that organs of the party would meet shortly to take concrete decisions on the way forward.

    He also assured that the governors’ forum and various organs of the leadership of the party remain united and strong.

    “You have the assurance of my colleagues that we should be less worried about this development.

    “We will take steps and continue to ensure that the interest and future of this party is not mortgaged,”he said.

    The forum chairman said that the Sen. Ahmed Markarfi-led PDP faction has majority of supporters on its side including governors, senators, House of Representatives members, state party chairmen.

    “We want to believe that the same judiciary will right the wrong,’’ he said.

    Fayose said the judgement would not affect ongoing efforts aimed at re-positioning the party or the governorship election in his state.

    “I am a nation of Israel amidst the enemies; nobody defeats the nation of Israel. I will never be defeated,’’ the governor said.

    On the withheld Ekiti state’s statutory allocation, Fayose assured the workers to expect their salaries on Tuesday.

    “I can gladly tell you that a letter has been transmitted since yesterday (Thursday) for the release of the money. Whatever reason they give is not as important as that money.

    “I want to assure the people of Ekiti that they will get alert on Tuesday,’’ Fayose said

    In his reactions, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Sen. Walid Jubril, said that the judgment was not a threat to the party but would rather unite them.

    He said that the party would go to any length to resolve the issue.

    Jubril also urged PDP members to be calm and not defect to other parties as it was engaging in consultation with all organs of the party to ensure that the party remained strong.

    “I am sure that very soon everybody will smile. Those who are crying today will laugh again and PDP will one day become one party and strong. All these is a question of time,’’ Jubril said.

    He said that the party would on Tuesday come out with a statement.

     

  • We appreciate your commitment to deepening our democracy, Dogara tells EU

     

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara has commended the European Union (EU)’s decision to include Nigeria among the seven countries that makes up its new commission.

    The Speaker spoke on Monday when he received the delegation from the EU parliament at the National Assembly on Monday.

    According to the Speaker: “The European Union has displayed an unwavering commitment to deepen Nigeria’s democracy by selecting it to be among seven countries that make up its new commission”.

    Dogara said the above was in addition to many other interventions by the EU, “which is helping to promote democratic culture in Nigeria”.

    He stated, “I want to also note with pride, that of the agreements that you have with other nations, about seven of them in total as you reeled them out, only two nations are in Africa and Nigeria is one of them. That shows commitment by the EU to enhance the growth of democracy in Nigeria.

    “Obviously, we are the largest democracy in Africa, so that was a wonderful decision and we can only but reciprocate.”

    Commending the EU Parliament’s interest in Nigeria’s democracy, the speaker noted that deepening democracy goes beyond the ballot, because it was what happens after the ballot that matters.

    He added that, as part of efforts to deepen the quality of the nation’s democracy, Nigeria was already working on the shortfalls observed by the EU in the 2015 elections through bills that were before the National Assembly.

    Dogara maintained that democracy is not just about elections because elections have produced dictators in the past but the people must always work to protect and deepen democracy.

    Leader of the EU Parliament delegation, Mr Santiago Fisaf, while speaking earlier, disclosed that the EU had started a new commission dealing not only with federation election but capacity building, and had chosen Nigeria as one of the seven countries to participate.

    He explained, “a special agreement between a few countries to interact with us and to help each other with best practices in different parliaments. There are only seven countries in the world that we have this agreement with: Ukraine, Maldova, Georgia,Tunisia, Yemen, Peru and now, Nigeria.

    “That means that Nigeria is the only country in south Sahara and Tunisia, in Africa.

    “The aim of this Committee is to build special relationships between the parliaments, institutionally and also for exchange Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, staff, young politicians and political parties. And to exchange ideas and problems and see how we can solve them.”

    Earlier, Vice President of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and facilitator of the meeting, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, informed the speaker that the EU delegation held a thorough interaction with chairmen of some Committees in the House of Representatives.

    He said, “Honestly, we have learnt a lot from the discussions we had with them and also benefitted a lot from the EU discussions. Chairmen of the Committees of the House of Representatives include that of National Security and Intelligence, Public Accounts, Intergovernmental Affairs, Human Rights, Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights.

    “These are members of the team that had discussions with the EU Parliament on many areas of collaboration and observations made earlier in the 2015 elections.”