Posted by By AbdulWahab Abdulah on
Lagos lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), yesterday urged the government's anti-corruption agencies not to be intimidated in.....
Lagos lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), yesterday urged the government's anti-corruption agencies not to be intimidated in its plan to probe would-be aspirants for political offices for the 2007 elections.
Speaking in Lagos at a press briefing/award ceremony for him by Igbo Peoples Action Congress (IPAC), the frontline lawyer also said whether Nigerians liked it or not, the country's political space would not be smooth until there is a sovereign national conference to discuss the country's political and economic problems.
He said the time had come for Nigerians to realize that those calling for zoning of political offices were doing so, 'not for the interest of the masses but what they will loot out of the treasury of the government and increase their way of securing and inflating contracts awarded to themselves."
Fawehinmi said: 'this is the time that Nigerians should let the best men rule us, those who have put Nigeria into the present mess are still there till today and they come from all over the country. The idea of zoning is just an idea to deceive the masses of this country that they (politicians) are interested in the affairs of common Nigerians. We must reject this totally.
'We have the money to change our fortune, those in power do not think of the people, that must stop henceforth. Democracy cannot thrive unless we appreciate why we are in this trouble since independence."
He called on the Igbo youths who honoured him with the title of 'Most distinguished Nigerian Democrat" to carry the message home and ensure that Nigerians put their destiny in their own hands.
Speaking on the occasion, the IPAC members said the geo-political zonal structure introduced by the military regime is antithetical to democracy and contradicts the federal structure of Nigeria. According to them, the system lacks legitimate or authoritative government with democratically elected leaders.