The Coalition for the Protection of Democracy (CoPDEM) has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government to ensure that it captures the retirees in the palliatives that will soon be rolled out to vulnerable Nigerians.
Also, CoPDEM condemned what it described as threats to the peace and unity of Nigeria and therefore called on everyone to eschew bitterness and work for the betterment of the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the Spokesperson of CoPDEM, Danjuma Garba Musa, said retirees and co-civil servants should be well-captured in the palliatives.
“The bulk of the career civil servants and pensioners are not included in the palliatives even though they bear the brunt of the subsidy removal more than the politicians whose allowances and salaries are world-class.
“A democratically elected government ought to consider the plight of the masses in both the public and private sectors that are the majority and the most vulnerable.
“Sequel to these, it is on the news that a 24-hour curfew has been imposed in Yola town, Adamawa State capital, as a result of mass looting of foodstuff warehouses by people, as was experienced during the Covid19 pandemic.
This is a clear indication of indignation and destitution that may likely become endemic. COPDEM calls on governments at all levels to be responsive and sensitive to the plight of the people. Democracy can best thrive if poverty and unemployment are reduced.
“COPDEM is taking this opportunity to urge all Nigerians to continue to pray for the country in these trying times. It is equally significant to maintain the values of peace and unity through respect and tolerance for each other while appreciating our differences and diversities. Active participation in politics and governance by all and sundry is a sure way of protecting and promoting our democracy,” he said.
The group also condemned what it described as unguided utterances by some politicians in the name of drumming support, adding that such anti-democratic utterances are capable of directly undermining the core democratic values of the country.
“Our law enforcement agencies and the media are State actors in upholding the tenets of democracy in Nigeria. They must never be used. The media is the umpire who must remain unbiased. While the law enforcement agencies are the players and actors that ought to be guided by the rules of the game and not the dictates of any person or sentiments.
“It does not speak well of a nation like Nigeria to witness the fracas between the DSS and Correctional Services over the custody of Mr Godwin Emefile in an alleged case of illegal possession of firearms while other bandits and warlords brandish their sophisticated weapons and mercenaries, openly and freely spewing hate and threatening genocide.
“We particularly call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government to dissociate themselves from Asari Dokubo and his machinations in the name of supporting the president. It is a threat to the peace and unity of the country.
“COPDEM equally urges our lawmakers to let the judiciary breathe. The revelations by Senator Bulkachuwa, in a senate plenary, of how he has been influencing his wife, a then justice, to favour his friends and colleagues shows the susceptibility of our judiciary to undue influences and threats even from those that are supposed to safeguard it.
“COPDEM found it necessary to express its concerns over the unnecessary hardship that Nigerians have been plunged into by the abrupt removal of subsidy without palliative measures in place. The government needs to be inclined to mass-friendly policies that would put smiles on the faces of ordinary Nigerians. A democratic government should be mass-oriented.
“In less than 30 days in office, of the incumbent government, a 114% increase in the salaries of elected politicians, including the President, Vice President, Governors, lawmakers as well as judicial and public office holders was made. Any genuine commitment to democracy must put the people first. The masses are more vulnerable to the scourge of poverty and the effects of the subsidy removal,” the group added.
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