Godwin Obaseki Is Now A Threat To Democracy – Edo Lawmakers

14th members-elect of the Edo state House of Assembly have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to fulfill his pledge of fixing the legislative impasse in the state.

According to them, this is time to take steps because Governor Godwin Obaseki has crossed the line and he is now a major threat to democracy.

The assembly members who do not support the governor’s inauguration of 10 out of the 24-member legislature, said Obaseki cannot keep going against the party and the symbol of democracy without any punishment.

Spokesman of the group, Hon. Washington Osa Osifo, representing Uhunmwode State Constituency had this to say, “We want to thank the President for the job he is doing for Nigerians. One thing that counts well for him as a man of integrity is that he has the courage to fight corruption.

“Corruption comes in many ways because when you brazenly stand on the head of democracy, that is the greatest form of corruption because it opens the window for people to do the wrong thing, just as it is in Edo where funds are wrongly deployed to fighting a cause that is needless just to realize a second term ambition.

“We want to call on him and also to remind him that this party promised change to the people. We came on the mantra of change and so in all that we do, we must have the consciousness that people are watching.”

“How can it be said that an APC state is embarrassing the nation like this? It is not the intention of Mr President to run a government like this.

“Mr President we call on you to remember that you sent a message to the Edo parliament, yet to be inaugurated when our brothers in Bauchi visited you some months ago, you told them that the reason why they were inaugurated was to defend the laws and Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“That to subscribe to illegality would be a very wrong thing to do and through them you sent us a message that they should be men of honour.

“You sent another message to us that immediately your cabinet is inaugurated, the first assignment for your Attorney General and Minister of Justice will be to look at the situation in Bauchi and Edo States with a view to resolving them. In your words, you said ‘I will summon the IGP to see to it that these wrongs are made right.”

“The issue is that this madness in Edo must be corrected”.

“Obaseki, the governor of Edo state has done manifest injustice to democracy. Obaseki has orchestrated something that is bringing actions that are alien to the people. We can imagine how the whole nation sees Edo.

“Today, everyone sees Edo state through the eyes of its head as if that is who we are. We are sorry, we apologise because that is not who we are.

“What is happening today is the quest for ambition that has been taken too far. In the words of Mr President, they have crossed the red line, but crossing the red line is one thing to say but not doing anything to stop or stem that tide is even more dangerous than crossing the red line.

“They have done manifest injustice and untold harm on members of the APC, the same party that we all belong to. By the instruction of Mr Governor, he has given such mandate to the 18 local government Chairmen to do bodily harm to anyone who has opposing views towards his ambition.

“What is the definition of anarchy? If you need that definition, just go to Edo state as it is today and you will not need a further definition. That is anarchy in practice.”

What say you?