Buhari has disregarded the National Assembly to a ridiculous extent – Abaribe

Senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe has accused the Buhari administration of disregarding the National Assembly and running an imperial government.

He was speaking in an interview with Daily Trust newspaper on Sunday.

Abaribe who is the Senate Minority Leader was lamenting the relationship between the Legislative arm and the Executive arm of the Nigerian government.

He said the 9th Assembly has not been able to perform its role optimally because the Buhari Administration has taken the National assembly for granted to a ridiculous level.

This he claims is not surprising because Nigeria voted someone that is not a Democrat. Thus he described Nigeria’s democracy as a Kabiyesi democracy.

He said, “It has always been a trend in all administrations that they mostly take the National Assembly for granted. But this particular administration has carried it to a very ridiculous extent. And so, we just see serial infringements on all the established laws and norms of democratic governance.

“What it simply tells us and the world is that you cannot have democracy without democrats. And so, when an individual who has been voted into office is not a democrat, he cannot give you democracy. His natural inclinations and natural feelings are always tilted towards an authoritarian rule. That is why, for lack of a better word, I will call it a kabiyesi democracy.”

Abaribe also waded in on the recent herdsmen crisis that has plagued the country, He said
that foreigners are invading the country with arms and the government needs to wake up to address the issue.

He however opposed the move by some residents who issue quit notices to Fulani residents to leave their community and urged they involve the security operatives instead.

He said, “As Professor Wole Soyinka said in an interview with BBC Pidgin, the president needs to address Nigerians and own up to these problems. He needs to wake up and say that if you are doing the business of rearing cattle for sale, it should not be at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of Nigerians. We saw what happened in Benue State.

“At a time, the governor of Benue State cried to Aso Rock and he was told that they should learn to live with their neighbours.

“The murderers move about with AK47 rifles. They do not speak Hausa or Fulfude but Bambara and other foreign languages, but they have suddenly transformed into Nigerians that we must accommodate as neighbours. How did somebody who invaded you from outside your country become your neighbour?

“What I am pointing at is that it was the combination of those excuses that led these people to see Nigeria as a robust place they can come and conquer. The violence spread all over the North, and now the South-West and South-East and parts of the South-South because the invaders were enabled through the inaction of the government. The consequence is what we are seeing today. We are gradually inching towards the precipice.

“No. The way forward is for security agencies to track down and apprehend the bandits that are running all over Nigeria. Unfortunately, these criminals disguise with the people who are law abiding and going with their cattle as if they were providing security for them and then, engage in kidnapping and other criminal activities. So, if you want to sanitise the system, you now ask everybody to go so that you can actually profile genuine herders. I think that was what actually happened.”