A former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has raised alarm over what he described as a constitutional violation and a direct threat by Edo Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, to former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
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Abaribe, who currently chairs the South East Senate Caucus, issued a stern warning to Okpebholo for allegedly placing movement restrictions on Obi.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by his Media Adviser, Uchenna Awom, the lawmaker expressed deep concern over what he termed the “unconstitutional overreach” by Governor Okpebholo.
“It is very unfortunate that it seems our dear country is fast descending to lawlessness with this mindset and I pray that nothing happens to Mr Peter Obi,” he warned.
According to Abaribe, the governor lacks the legal authority to prevent any Nigerian citizen from entering or moving freely within Edo State.
“Nigeria is still a constitutional democracy where the rights of everyone, particularly citizens of Nigeria, are guaranteed,” Abaribe stated.
“It is therefore disheartening that leaders who are supposedly the custodians of the letters and spirit of the 1999 constitution as amended would decide to willfully be at the driving seat of its denigration in the name of politics,” he added.
The senator warned that the governor’s actions could set a dangerous precedent that threatens the core of Nigeria’s democratic ideals.
“So one wonders where the Edo State governor derives his powers to bar a Nigerian citizen from visiting his state unless such a person obtains permission from him; otherwise, the person’s security will not be guaranteed.
“That is a dangerous threat to life that the authorities should not gloss over,” Abaribe said.
He described the development as an unfortunate signal of rising lawlessness and implored authorities to intervene before it escalates further.
Abaribe reminded Okpebholo, himself a former Senator, of the constitutional principles that guide leadership and governance, especially in a diverse federation like Nigeria.
“Governor Okpebolo, who was a Senator and as such a lawmaker, needs to be reminded that Nigeria belongs to all of us and that he is dead wrong to claim authority that he does not have.
“The beauty of democracy is made manifest in the expression of freedom to hold divergent views and the freedom of movement of every Nigerian in any part of the Nigerian Federation, Edo State inclusive,” he stressed.
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