EDO ASSEMBLY CRISIS: PDP faults Reps, cautions against constitutional conflict

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted House of Representatives’ decision on the Edo Assembly crisis.

House of Reps had asked the Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to shut down the Edo State Assembly.

But the PDP in a statement on Thursday by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the decision was “completely unconstitutional, provocative and has no place in a democratic dispensation.”

It cautioned the leadership of the House of Reps to desist from actions that violate the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and could trigger a constitutional crisis in Edo state and the nation at large.

“The PDP states that no section of the 1999 Constitution confers the House of Representatives with the powers to issue orders to a state governor or direct the shut down of a sitting State House of Assembly. Whether in language or action, such is only obtainable in a military system.

“The PDP hereby invites Nigerians to note that section 11 of the 1999 Constitution, upon which the House of Representatives anchored its decision, does not in any way empower the House of Representatives to shut down a functioning state legislature

“Our party cautions the federal legislature to note that such imperial stance against a legislative house; a symbol of the sovereignty of the people, is self-destruct and opens the fundamentals of our nation’s democracy to unwarranted attacks.

“This is particularly as there are already apprehensions across the country that this shutdown order is a prelude to an autocratic journey that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its dictatorial leadership intend to embark on to complete their round of total state capture,” the statement read in part.

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The party further warned against any arm of government overreaching itself to take actions that undermine the nation’s constitution and “encourage dictatorial tendencies against our institutions of democracy and the essentials of personal freedom and rights of citizens in our nation.”

The opposition party then lambasted the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership for its inability to manage its avarice and internal strife in Edo State.

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