The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO)has expressed displeasure over recent comments by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) over the recent suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.
The two United States of America based organisations had, in their statements, queried the decision of the Nigerian President to suspend the Chief Justice.
They had also suggested that the federal government ought to have consulted other political actors in the decision to suspend the CJN.
BMO however believes this is undue interference in a strictly Nigerian affair. In a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, the group said the two organisations are wrong on several counts.
“First, it is important to educate the NDI and IRI that Nigeria is a country governed by laws, and not subject to the dictates of some
non-governmental organisations from America. On the issue of the suspension of the CJN, the president followed the laws of the land and the courts are available for any aggrieved person to seek redress.
“It should also be emphasized that the suspension has nothing to do with the upcoming elections, and therefore does not call for the
involvement of political actors. Let it be known that once a government is in place it has a duty to discharge its responsibilities
to the people, more so when the decision is not hinged on politics”.
BMO says it finds it “unbelievable that the two institutes will impute that a decision that was taken by a sovereign state in the course of normal governance is targeted at the forthcoming election. This is unacceptable, reprehensible and must stop.
“For the umpteenth time, we want to let the NDI and IRI know that the decision of the President to suspend the CJN was based on the Code of Conduct Tribunal order and not meant to ‘unfairly impact the electoral processes’ as claimed in the organisations’ report.