Senators, on
Thursday, condemned the proposed plan by the government of Imo State to issue
Identification Cards to northerners residing in the state.
The governor
had devised the measure as a way of preventing attacks by the Boko Haram
insurgents in the state.
But senators,
on Thursday, condemned the measure during the debate on a motion raised by
Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi.
Ningi, who
quoted different sections of the Nigerian Constitution, said the proposed
policy negated the nation’s laws and called on President Goodluck Jonathan to
direct security agencies to reject the move.
The motions,
entitled, “The Issuance of Identification Card to northerners
residing in Imo State - Urgent call for policy reversal, indicated that the bid
to register northerners in Imo State called for concern, adding that the plan
was discriminatory.
According to
him, the policy contravenes Section 41(1) and 42(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
He stated
that if not reversed, the policy would lead to gross abuse of the citizens’
rights and could throw the entire country into chaos, which, he said, could
further threaten the survival of the nation’s democracy.
Senator
Chris Anyanwu, who is from Imo, said the policy had shown that Governor
Okorocha lacked knowledge of the Nigerian Constitution.
Anyanwu said:
“Today, the governor of Imo State has drawn an unusual attention to
himself because he failed to respect the constitutional provision of free
movement, free association, free worship which are well cherished by our
people.
“Our people
are the best travelled and most liberal minded in the world. We are
highly accommodating; we are a people that are very friendly to the
extent that we have a settlement for the Hausa people in Owerri, who have been
living there for generations.
“I have some
of the Hausa children, most of whom are speaking better Igbo language, on
my scholarship scheme while I have been sending some of their parents on hajj.
“However,
someone, somewhere, who doesn’t respect the constitution of Nigeria, who
doesn’t respect the law, who doesn’t believe in due process, and who
doesn’t understand our people, suddenly wakes up one morning and introduced a
policy that tends to create enmity between us and our beloved neighbours.”
Tags
Politics