By Thompson Yamput
The Campaign for Democracy, a civil society organisation, on Thursday said the recall of Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP-Kogi Central) by her constituents would deepen democracy in Nigeria.
The pro-democracy group also said that such action by her concerned constituents would help put lawmakers on their toes to serve them well.
The group made the this known in a statement issued in Lokoja by its President, Mr Ifeanyi Odili.
READ ALSO: Recall Process: You’re Biased And Have Taken Sides, Natasha to INEC
It expressed worry over what it described as “avoidable” crisis between embattled suspended Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio a few weeks ago.
According to the group, the incident has put Nigeria’s image on trial before the global community.
The CSO said it was worried that, rather than addressing the core issues surrounding her (Akpoti-Uduaghan) suspension within the framework of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, she chose to “engage in a campaign of calumny against the Senate as an institution.”
“It’s unfortunate that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s activities within and outside the country since the beginning of the controversy have cast an unfortunate dent on the image of Nigeria, for which she must apologise.
“This is nothing but gross misconduct against Nigeria,” it said.
It advised respected Nigerian leaders to always identify when not to play opposition politics with delicate national issues, in the best interest of the nation.
“More worrisome is the fact that she has distorted the facts preceding her suspension and curiously held on to her sexual harassment allegations against the Senate President as the reason for the initial actions taken against her.
“Taking such misrepresentation to the world stage and representing Nigeria illegally at the Inter Parliamentary Union to air such views can be described as nothing but gross misconduct against the country.
“She needs to apologise. This should not be muddled up with politics, the group said.
The group wondered why Sen. Natasha had abandoned her faith in the Nigerian judiciary.
According to the group, since she has already taken her grievances to the courts, one would have expected her to allow due process to take its course.
It argued that resorting to media trials, seeking sympathy from foreign audiences, Akpoti-Uduaghan has watered down whatever sympathy she could have gained from them and Nigerians at large.
“Her current confrontational approach serves no productive purpose other than to bring ridicule to Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
“As a public official, she has a responsibility to uphold the dignity of her office and promote national cohesion, rather than dragging the country’s name through unnecessary international controversies,” the group said.
The CSO commended the electorate of Kogi Central for exercising their constitutional rights to initiate a recall process.
“This is a significant step towards strengthening Nigeria’s democracy,” it said.
(NAN)
