It will be recalled that on March 18, the leadership of the Labour Party’s presidential campaign council confirmed that Mr. Nnamdi Chude, a member of the presidential campaign council (PCC) of the Labour Party (LP), was arrested by the CID in Anambra State....CONTINUE READING
After a long while of silence, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Gregory Obi, opened up concerning the matter via a tweet, noting that he had made due inquiries about the arrest and that the poor utilization of the rule of law and abuse of power were solely responsible.
Peter Obi tweeted, “After due enquiries, I regret to say that the arrest of Mr Nnamdi Chude is a further confirmation of Nigeria’s poor and declining performance in the rule of law, voice, accountability, and other governance indicators.”
“With voice and accountability, the No. 1 key indicator of good governance, it is very important, particularly for those in authority, to note and accept that freedom of expression is a fundamental right and ingredient for the development of a good society.”
He said, “While I appreciate that the freedoms must be exercised in line with the rule of law, arresting Nigerians for tweeting about their leaders and those in authority decimates the opportunity for inclusive governance and accountability, which are highly needed in a developing country like Nigeria.
Peter Obi continued, “As we are all Nigerians and Nigeria is our only country, we must continue to make efforts to build a better nation where justice, fairness, equity, tolerance, prosperity, accountable leadership, and the rule of law shall reign with no Nigerian feeling suppressed or oppressed.”
He added, “As leaders, it is important for us to know that there are several consequences of occupying public office.” “Citizens will have their different thoughts on us, and we have the right to reply.” Arbitrary use of our office or in an unrestrained way will do no one any good, including those in authority.
He concluded by saying, “I therefore appeal to all concerned to please treat the issue most objectively under the rule of law and compassionately release the young man in question.”
