ABUJA – Senate of the Federal Republic yesterday, cautioned Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai against brutality and undemocratic behaviour of his administration.
The Senate also enjoined the governor to endeavour to follow the rule of law in his dealings, and endeavour to either rebuild a factional All Progressive Congress (APC) building that he allegedly demolished or compensate its owners accordingly.
The call followed a complaint by Shehu Sani that his colleague’s (Suleiman Hunkuyi – Kaduna North) house was demolished in Kaduna by the State governor due to crisis rocking the party in the state.
Presiding Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu did not subject the matter for debate on the ptemise that it came as a “personal explanation”.
He however sympathised with Sen. Hunkuyi and condemned El-Rufai’s action, stressing, “democracy has no place for tyranny and this kind of impunity”.
If we decide to go on the part of democracy, we must accept some of the things that come with it; and one is the rule of law.
If we have any kind of grievance, that grievance should be settled in the law court and not using force or the weight of our office.
I believe this is one of the reason why Nigerians opposed immunity especially for state chief executives.
This is something we need to watch as we head toward 2019; we must appeal to politicians not to over heat the system and then imperil our democracy.
There is a limit to the patience of our people. This should be the last of this kind of incidence in any part of Nigeria, if people have grievances, they have the court to settle it, and our courts can be trusted to ensure that justice is delivered to whoever justice is due.
I do hope that if it is true, that the governor will make effort to go and rebuild the house or pay him adequate compensation. We condemn the act”, the DSP added.
Sen. Sani had in his presentation, noted that, El-Rufai was “in his own thinking that, that will send a clear message to other persons outside of the state and other parts of the country to remain silent and conform to the will and wishes of people in position of power today”.
He regretted that “in the last two and half years, we have been be-faced with tyranny and open dictatorship in Kaduna state; my constituency office was attacked by violent thugs and it has also been clear that armed military personnel and policemen have consistently been used by the governor, to intimidate and harrasss people who don’t agree with him.
It is of concern that almost 20 years after military dictatorship, that a man with such a rabid ambition and arrogance of power can appropriate for himself the power to act outside of the law.
How can a governor, a democratically elected governor, demolish a house without notice, simply for the fact that we have set up an office different from the one he had personalized himself as a so-called party man.
It is of concern to us that these actions by the governor had been done in the name of Mr. President (Mohammadu Buhari) whom, he believes he is his son that he so much loves.
Gov. Nasir Elrufai is an infliction to the people of kaduna state and a curse to us. We will use this opportunity to call on Mr. President to caution his beloved son who has unleashed a rain of terror; and has been held in the most despicable and irresponsible way.
It is a fact, that if this crisis is not nipped in the bud, it will in every way catapult and metamorphosed into something very big.
I will use this opportunity to call on the federal government, the president himself to reign-in the governor of Kaduna state; that we in our state, we cannot accept such a man who continuously behave with all the qualities of a Hitler, of Mobutu Seseseko and Nebuchadnezzar”, Sen. Sani warned.
Later in a chat with journalists, Sen. Hunkuyi forgave El-Rufai for his misdeed, but noted that he was not detered by the demolition of his building which he had donated for use by the APC.
He recalled that the house had once hosted El-Rufai gubernatorial campaigns and that of the state chapter of APC of which he was chairman.
