Coalition of 22 Civil Society Organisations in Plateau State have urged Plateau lawmakers not to take the people who elected them into office for granted by condoning acts of impunity and lawlessness at the Assembly.
Chairman of the Coalition in Plateau State and also the Director of Equally Access, Mr Gad Peter during a press conference in Jos together with all the leaders of the Civil Society organisations condemn the Plateau Assembly leadership crisis lamented that the ugly development had impacted negatively in the economy of the State.
Gad said, “we are saddened by the current unnecessary leadership tussle in the Plateau State House Assembly which daily heat up the political atmosphere, threatening the peace and corporate existence of the State, making life unbearable for citizens and inculcating the culture of violence and use of force instead of debate, diplomacy and dialogue. It is therefore critical at this point to call on all parties, especially those trying to forcefully change the rules to follow the rules of engagement and constitutional provisions (Sec 92 Sub sec 2c) so that law makers do not become law breakers as we see in this saga.
“While we commend all gallant officers of all security agencies in the state that have sacrificed their time and life for the maintenance of peace and support for Democracy and Civic space, we however, wish to urge the various security agencies in the state that they should maintain an impartial posture in handling the ongoing attempt at ‘leadership change’ in the State House of Assembly. This call became imperative because there is a general perception that the State Security Service and the Nigeria Police Force have not been a strategic arbiter in handling the impasse thus far.
“We are worried that the security agencies in the state saddled with the responsibility of providing security, restoring peace and maintaining law and order seems to have become a party in the impasse. We want to use this platform to call on the Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the State Security Service to call their personnel to order, to ensure they do not compromise the security architecture of the state which is still fragile and they stand on the side of justice, fairness and peace. They should not avail and allow themselves to be used by politicians as toys or tools of instability.
“We are also worried by the militarization of the civic space where military personnel on bikes are always deployed to harass, scuffle, and intimidate harmless civilians firing indiscriminately under the guise of maintaining peace and order where in the real sense there is absolutely no threat to peace and order.
“We equally call on government officials, politicians and other actors to desist from leveraging the vulnerability of unemployed youths, some of whom are victims of bad governance, drug abuse turned drug addicts in need of rehabilitation but instead are turned into cheap political touts at any given opportunity to cause unrest which is unfortunately becoming a way of life.
“A stitch in time saves nine, it is in the best interest of Plateau state to have a people centered and functioning House of Assembly that would promote, support democratic culture and socio-economic development of the state. We therefore, call for a quick resolution of the perceived impasse and democratic norms and practice in the running of the affairs of the Plateau State House of Assembly and we say no to any act of impunity”
“We call in very clear and loud Voice for the respect for the rule of Law, inclusiveness, protection of democracy values and independence in the real sense of the word of the three arms of government.
