The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party [PDP], Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has described the president as a “General Muhammadu Buhari” and a “military dictator”.
Alhaji Abubakar made the remarks during his state of the nation address at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, on Monday, January 28, following the “unlawful removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen” from office.
During the speech, Atiku, who addressed the president as General Muhammadu Buhari, urged Nigerians to “rise in peaceful defense of democracy, for which so many have laid down their lives”.
He, meanwhile, commended all Nigerians and friends of Nigeria who expressed outrage over the action.
The former Vice President said that Buhari’s action “constitutes a flagrant breach of our constitution and a frontal assault on our democracy”.
He also noted that how Nigerians ‘react to this challenge in the following days will determine the fate of the democracy, which has been brought to great peril by this needless crisis engineered by a government that is unwilling to subject its conducts to the requirements of our constitution.’
He said: “I need to state that this latest action by General Muhammadu Buhari falls squarely within the pattern of executive lawlessness that has now been firmly turned into statecraft by the APC government.”
He lamented that “the serial disregard of court orders, and consequent violation of constitutionally guaranteed human rights of our citizens confirms beyond all doubt that General Buhari and his government would rather obey their own whims and operate by separate rules outside the well-established constitutional order and the rule of law.”
Describing the president’s behaviour, he said it “is alien to democratic rule and more in line with that of a military dictator”.
Atiku acquiesced that the fight against corruption is, without doubt, crucial to good governance and the progress of the country.
He said that “as the last refuge of the common man, our judiciary must not only be above suspicion but must also be seen to be manifestly above board”.
However, he noted that “the issue at stake is not whether the Chief Justice is guilty or not, but whether his removal from office has been done in accordance with the process specified in our constitution.”
The presidential candidate recalled how the Buhari’s government has serially assaulted the National Assembly, a separate arm of government that represents the bastion of our democracy.
He stressed, however, that “with this attack on the judiciary, General Buhari has set a new precedent in our democracy that has no equivalence in our history”, even in the darkest days of military dictatorship.
He concluded by calling on Nigerians to rise in peaceful defense of democracy, for which so many have laid down their lives”.
He said Nigerians should seize the opportunity of the coming general elections to vote Buhari out in defense of democracy and the rule of law.
“We must vote out this anti-democratic government and restore our country to the path of true democracy, which is the surest way to ensure progress and prosperity for our people,” he appealed.
