Ekiti guber: Makarfi reacts to Fayose’s ordeal, calms for calm

A presidential aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and
former National Caretaker Committee chairman of the party, Senator
Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, has expressed shock over the news on the
treatment reportedly meted to Governor Ayo Fayose and members of PDP
by the police in Ekiti state.

Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo, the spokesman to Senator Ahmed Makarfi, in a
statement, said, "Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi is appalled by the
news coming out of Ekiti State, which reports that not only were
members of the PDP denied their constitutionally guaranteed rights of
assembly, but that also, in the process, the state Governor and his
Deputy, who happens to be the party's candidate in the forthcoming
election were physically assaulted and injured by the police.

"Senator Makarfi is pained by this brazen infringement on the
individual and collective rights of the people as enshrined in our
constitution and considers it an assault not only on Governor Ayo
Fayose and the PDP, but also a knife through the heart of the nation's
democracy, by an agency of state that is funded to protect those
rights amongst other functions.

"As we approach 2019 elections, these signals are ominous as they
portend a tendency towards desperation and the proclivity to deploy
instruments of state towards the attainment of a predetermined agenda.

"Situations such as this bring into sharper focus, Senator Makarfi's
arguments and appeals, with respect to restructuring the country, that
we also consider restructuring our institutions in such a way that
they are insulated from political control to enable them serve the
state as opposed to serving political leaders of the time, which is
what obtains at the moment."

As the people of Ekiti state heads to the polls, the presidential
aspirant appealed to the police and other security agencies to operate
in a manner that would inspire confidence in the people.

He urged the federal government to rise to the occasion by providing a
level-playing field for candidates standing for the election in Ekiti
state, and subsequent elections so as to ensure the development of
democracy and the rule of law.

Makarfi pointed out that the entire world, not only Nigerians, are
watching with interest to see how situations unfold in the coming
days.