A
socio-political organisation of All Progressives Congress (APC)
youths on Friday, July 15, 2016 condemned the “reckless” attack and
blackmail carried out on a Nigerian senator, Dino Melaye by his
colleague, Remi Tinubu.
Senator Dino Melaye, who is chairman of the senate committee on the Federal Capital Territory was allegedly in an altercation
with Senator Remi Tinubu in an executive session of the senate on
Tuesday, July 12, 2016. An online tabloid reported that Melaye
threatened to “beat up” and “impregnate” Tinubu.
However, Melaye says he never made such a threat and that Tinubu called him a dog and a thug
and in retaliation, he called her “stupid” and told her that the
Nigerian senate was not her husband’s Lagos residence. Mrs. Tinubu has
remained mute on the matter.
The organisation, under the aegis
of Youth Alliance for Change, YAC, from the North Central zone, said the
national leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
should be cautioned and called to order “before he plunges the party
into a major crisis”, for what it called “the sustained attack on the
leadership of the senate over his failure to install his stooges on the
leadership of the National Assembly.”
According to them, the senate belongs to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and “not an extension of Tinubu’s political empire.”
The youths said the “gutter language”
used by Mrs. Tinubu on Melaye, representing Kogi West during arguments
on continued victimisation of senate leadership by forces opposed to the
emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as senate president, were
unwarranted.
The position of YAC is contained in a communique issued and signed by
its director of public communication, Mr. Malls Idris Sanni, after its
emergency meeting.
The communique, which was e-mailed to The Trent, called
on the leadership of the senate to “sanction Remi Tinubu for her
unguarded vituperation against the Jarma of Okuta and the Senior
Advocate of the Masses of Nigeria (SAM)” said the actions of Senator
Tinubu smacks of “arrogance, political vendetta and betrayal of Senate
unity against external influence”.
“We have watched with interest, how
Senator Remi Tinubu has failed to recover from the humiliation of his
husband, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the election of principal
officers in the Senate. While her husband is fighting from outside the
chambers through various courts, Remi Tinubu has continued to fight from
inside,” the statement said.
“It is unfortunate that Remi Tinubu has
not shown any respect toward the present leadership of the senate just
because they are not his husband choices. The senate belongs to the
Federal Republic of Nigeria and its people and not an extension of
Tinubu’s political empire.
“We know why Tinubu wants to control everywhere ahead of the 2019
general elections. He can put his wife, daughter and in-laws on the
ballots in Lagos. He should know Nigeria is bigger than Lagos”.YAC expressed profound support for Senator Dino Melaye, who it described as “a sterling example of youth representation in governance and symbol of democracy, quality representation and legislative excellence via Independence.”
According to Sanni, the leadership of
the APC should protect the victory of the party by promoting genuine
change, equity and justice, saying the party is bigger than the
selfishness of some leaders who are plunging the party into chaos for
failing to actualise their aim of controlling every institution in
Nigeria.
The group also call on all democrats in
the country to remain vigilant in protecting the “hard-earned democracy
procured with the blood and sweat of democracy martyrs”.
“Senator Dino Melaye is an institution in Nigeria. He is followed by
millions of youths across the country for his heroics in exposing high
profile corrupt cases.
“As an activist, he has fought
relentlessly to reverse obnoxious policies that were clearly against the
interest of the masses. He is a role model and a jewel to the party. We
are solidly behind him because we believe he is fighting on the side of
justice,” the group said.
Melaye held a press conference on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 in which he said that Bola Tinubu is not God and cannot influence his political destiny.
0 comments:
Post a Comment