By Peter Duru

MAKURDI — The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, has described the failure of the National Assembly to decisively address the current political logjam in the country as an act of cowardice, letdown and a threat to the nation’s democratic experiment.

CNPP noted that the Federal legislature has failed in its responsibilities to save the nation the current quagmire which was prompted by the vacuum created by the prolonged absence of President Yar’Adua from the country.

Speaking to newsmen in Makurdi, the Benue State Chairman of the CNPP, Engr. Baba Agan, wondered why the National Assembly cannot make necessary pronouncements that would have save the country the current crisis.
According to him, “those of them at the national Assembly have failed in their responsibilities to Nigerians in the present situation because they have deliberately abdicated their task of ensuring the survival of democracy in the country.

“This is quite appalling because they know the right thing to do at the moment but they have refused to put their feet down and ensure that Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan assumes charge of the country in order to check the drift the nation is currently facing,” he said.

Calls for patriotism

Agan further emphasised that the current challenge the nation is presently facing calls for utmost patriotism on the part of all Nigerians warning that, “this is the time to put aside our tribal and sectional differences in order to save this country from possible collapse.

“The National Assembly must act now because it is obvious that our President is down with health problems and cannot discharge his functions hence it is incumbent on the National Assembly to address the matter and ensure that the Vice-President is constitutionally empowered to take effective charge of the country because at the moment we are like sheep without a Shepard,” he said.

Nigeria milked

“Some hawks are capitalising on the situation to milk the nation and we cannot afford to continue like this in a country that is richly endowed with both human and material resources,” Agan said.

The CNPP chairman, who also doubles as the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, maintained that the country is on an edge and it would take a decisive step by the lawmaking body to save the country.

“This is not the time to toy with the future of this country and we cannot also delve into trivialities like the regional permutations. Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan must be supported immediately to assume full control of the country because we cannot afford to toy with the future of this country,” he said.