By Sadiq Umar, Abuja.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed threats by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against the new leaders of the National Assembly (NASS) as empty boasts, saying it lacks the capacity to sanction a duly elected leadership in the legislature.
It said the party should instead eat the humble pie and be better organised for governance rather than issuing threats aimed at covering its naivety, inexperience and unpreparedness for the business of government.
In a statement issued Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, PDP said the crass inexperience so far displayed by the APC was a pointer that it was not adequately equipped to handle the affairs of government at the center, noting that events would continue to prove the PDP right in this regard.
According to PDP, “Nothing can be more astonishing than the whining by the APC that the PDP at the last minute expressed its preference for Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively after it had earlier stated that it was not interested in the positions.
“This calls to question the capacity, experience and skills of APC leaders on political matters and we have no apology whatsoever for their naivety,” it stated.
“The APC is merely suffering the consequences of the greed, lust for power and inordinate ambitions of their leaders. They should note that Nigerians have since moved ahead with the new leaders in the National Assembly and stop wasting their energy on propaganda and blackmails to heat up the polity.”
The statement further condemned what it called the Tuesday’s botched attempts by the APC to close the NASS and stop lawmakers from carrying out their constitutional duties, as well as the threats to the newly elected leaders.
It stated further that the move was “totally against the tenets of democracy, the principles of separation of powers and independence of the legislature as enshrined in the constitution.”
“Indeed, APC’s disdain for democratic norms, the rule of law and the sanctity of the legislature, coupled with its excessive thirst for power portends grave threat to our survival as a nation and calls for serious concern among Nigerians and all lovers of democracy and freedom world over, the PDP added.
