By Ike Ekweremadu
The Deputy Senate president, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu, has on Monday tackled All Progressives Party, APC, over what he termed the use of anti-corruption agencies by the current administration to harass and intimidate the opposition party members.
Ekweremadu who wrote on his official facebook account @IamEkweremadu, told his supporters not to panic over the ex-parte motion for assets forfeiture filed against him by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property.
“I will not be silenced or intimidated by the actions of the panel”, he said. Speaking at the parties South-East zonal meeting yesterday, Ekweremadu asked his party members to remain steadfast and worry less.
Read his full statements below:
APC CAN’T BE A JUDGE IN THEIR OWN CASE: NO JUSTICE FOR THE COCKROACH IN THE COURT OF FOWLS
I attended the South East zonal meeting of my party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday at the Government House, Ebonyi State. I had the obligation to explain to my party men and women the current smear campaign and intimation by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
Below is a verbatim of my presentation:
“Our dear people of PDP, South East, while I thank you for the steadfastness you have shown over the last two to three years of APC governance in Nigeria, it is also an opportunity for me also to express my thanks and gratitude to those of you that tried to reach me and show concern over the smear campaign that you have witnessed concerning me over the past three weeks.
“As my people, I owe you the fact of telling you the truth, which is that I committed no offence. Because the matter is already in court, I do not intend to go into the details, but let me quickly add that very soon you will find out that it is only the politics of 2019. But what you are going to find out in 2019 is that PDP will be the David that is going to save Nigeria from the hands of Goliath and no amount of intimidation or blackmail will stop it.
“I just want to appeal that we continue on the path of honour. The APC government believes that one can capture power by blackmail and intimidation, which can never happen, and it will never happen.
“I want to say clearly that what we are witnessing is unfortunate and an embarrassment to us as a country. A situation where a government in power can try to use established anti-corruption agencies to harass and intimidate the opposition and when they believe that those agencies are being professional, they decided on their own to use soft tackles, will never be accepted by anybody; not by people outside.
“What we have found over the last few weeks is that a bunch of APC lawyers have assembled themselves and called themselves a panel on the recovery of government property led by led by a man called Okoi Obla. As a lawyer common sense tells you that you cannot be a judge in your own case.
There is no justice for the cockroach in the court of fowls. That is exactly what that panel is all about. Obla and his co-travellers believe that we are all stupid. There is no way Nigerians and the international community will watch a panel set up APC, constituted by APC to try PDP people; it would never happen.
“I just want to appeal that we continue to pray for this country because the days ahead are worrisome but by the grace of God, we will overcome”.