The Federal Government on Wednesday said the leaders of the All Progressives Congress were endangering the survival of Nigerians with their recent directive to their members in the National Assembly to block the passage of the 2014 budget and the screening of presidential nominees for both civilian and military positions.
The party had on Thursday based its directive of the Presidency’s alleged meddlesome in the Rivers State crisis.
Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, made the government’s position known while answering questions from State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting.
Maku said as far as the government was concerned, national interest should be paramount in the mind of anybody that should be described as a democrat.
He said such a directive to elected representatives to block bills or policies that would lead to the development of the nation was not expected of political leaders across party spectrum.
He said the government expected that members of the National Assembly would be allowed to use their conscience and judgment based on their understanding of any Bill before them and based on the fact that they swore to an oath to defend the constitution in order to advance national development.
Maku said, “Partisanship is allowed in democracy but it should not be taken over and above national interest or above the need for us to offer service to Nigerians. All of us are in government really to meet the needs of our people.
“If you say that the budget should not be passed, it means you want to stop the nation’s economy, you want to ensure that traders, farmers, citizens, teachers who depend on the budget, you are asking them to either to go to hell or that you are endangering their survival because of partisanship.
“I believe that this kind of directive or position is anti-national interest; it is anti-development of Nigeria and it is not something anybody who, loves this country and who is a democrat, should encourage.”
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