The Deputy Senate President, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu during the weekend denied reports that he called for military intervention/takeover in the country, noting that he never said so in the National Assembly.
Recall that Ekweremadu while contributing on Wednesday to the crisis in Kogi state especially the recent attack on Senator Ahmed Ogembe by suspected thugs quizzed, who said the army cannot take over.
A question he asked which according to him various media misinterpreted him as saying that he called for military takeover in the country.
A review of what Sen. Ekweremadu said on last week Wednesday will help elucidate his position.
Read thus:
“You will recall that sometime last year when they wanted to recall Dino, I advised the governor that they are wasting the resources of that state, that it is mission impossible.
“They took three pages in the newspaper abusing me. Are we still hearing the recall today? Money has been wasted.
“If he doesn’t stop, there is no how he will come back in 2019, never, no he will not. God will show him that he is a God of justice and this is a message to all those people who have caused all kinds of problem in Nigeria at different levels.
“The problem in Nigeria is that our democracy is receding. Who says army cannot take over? Let us not joke with our democracy that is the issue.
“The house of a senator was destroyed in Kaduna State. We also are talking about Kwankwaso, who was stopped from going to his state where he ruled for eight years.
“In Kaduna, Shehu Sani cannot organise a meeting and we are talking about a democracy.”
In view of the misinterpreted statement by some media outlets, Ekweremadu while speaking during the weekend in Bayelsa state said the comments he made on the floor of the senate were in defence of democracy.
In his words, “I never called for a military coup. I never said the military was planning any coup. Even the military’s statement admitted that my statement was only cautionary and that we were sincere.
“But they went as far as saying that the international community should ignore my words of caution.
“Of course, some people took it out of context and said I was calling for a military coup, which I never did.
“I hold the Nigerian army and the armed forces in high regard. They have defended our democracy, our people and have acquitted themselves creditably.
“If they need anything now, it is encouragement because this is not the best of times for them. But we do hope that when parliamentarians make statements, they (the military) should be able to know exactly what they said before reacting so that we don’t overheat the system”, he finally said.
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