Lawyer, Ekokoi Solomon, Faults Falana For Supporting June 12 Democracy Day

An Uyo based Lawyer, A former PDP House of Assembly aspirant in Akwa Ibom State Ekokoi Solomon has criticized a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN for defending President Buhari’s declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day and said he should advice the president properly on this issue. Ekokoi made this statement on Sunday in reaction to a show “Sunday Politics ” on Channels Television where the learned silk discussed on the posthumous award and the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day. According to him the Senior Advocate should not say that the President Buhari has the power by virtue of section 2 of Public Holidays Act to declare June 12 as Democracy Day, but rather encourage the president to forward such declaration as an Act to the National Assembly for approval. “It is unfair that the Senior Advocate of Nigeria allows his disposition to determine his position on the law. He is aware that the Schedule to the Act specifically lists 29 May as Democracy Day, but he went ahead to say that former president Obasanjo declared Democracy Day by executive order. “Former president Obasanjo did not declare 29 May (Democracy Day) by executive order. An amendment to the Public Holidays Act was passed by the National Assembly and signed by the President in 2000. “Lawyers like Mr. Falana should advice President Buhari to do the right thing and send a Bill seeking to amend that law, to replace 29 May with 12 June, to the National Assembly to decide whether it agrees with him on the matter or not. “If they feel the President should not send a Bill to the National Assembly because they believe he will fail to secure its approval, they should advice the President to be content with just declaring 29 June a public holiday, starting with this year, without adding Democracy Day to it,” he said. Solomon urged political leaders to learn to observe the rule of law. He also cautioned the electorates to hold politicians to live up to the dictates of the law and not dictates of men. “The followers must also hold the politicians to live up to the dictates of the law and not the dictates of men. Nigerians must remember that we are in a democracy and not dictatorship,” Ekokoi added.]]>