PDP: Nobody has treated n’assembly with disdain like IGP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says no one has treated the national assembly with disdain like Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of police (IGP).

The IGP was expected to appear before senate over growing security concerns and the case of Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi west, but he failed to honour the senate’s invitation on three different occasions.

In a statement on Wednesday, Kola Ologbondiyan, spokesman of PDP, described the failure of the IGP to appear before the senate as an “assault on our democratic process.”

Ologbondiyan wondered why President Muhammadu Buhari has not reprimanded the IGP.

“This deliberate assault on our democratic process, willful denigration of the national assembly and recourse to totalitarianism has not been reprimanded by President Muhammadu Buhari, as the chief security officer of the nation,” the statement read.

“It is instructive to state that never in our democratic history as a people and a nation, has a service chief or an inspector general of police treated the national assembly with as much dishonor and disdain like the current IGP.

“All over the world, the legislature is a bastion of democracy and our constitution, in recognition of this, provides a special place for our national assembly, as the representatives of the people, to serve as a check on the executive arm.

“We therefore condemn this offensive on our democracy by IGP Idris as well as the deliberate insult being heaped on each of our legislators by appointees of President Buhari. We invite Nigerians to note that totalitarianism does not begin in a day. It starts from a deliberate disrespect to statutes, laws and institutions that engender democracy and rule of law.

“Consequently, the PDP, as a party, urges the president of the senate and senators to protect the institution of the legislature and our democracy by not limiting their action only to finding Mr. Ibrahim Idris as unfit to hold public office.”

The spokesman asked the senate to act within their powers to restore respect and dignity to the legislature.