Saraki Addresses World Press, Today …As Jonathan Reminds Nigerians Of Democratic Gains

Senate President Bukola Saraki will address a World Press Conference at the foyer of the National Assembly at noon today, says his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu.
Olaniyonu did not indicate issues to be addressed at the conference in a statement he made available to newsmen in Abuja, yesterday.
However, it is expected that the blockade of the NASS by the security operatives and the postponement of the emergency meeting of principal officers of both chambers might feature in his address.
Saraki had last Monday convened the emergency meeting for yesterday but the NASS blockade by security operatives forced it to be postponed indefinitely.
In a joint statement by Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, they said that the unpleasant development at the assembly complex accounted for the postponement “until further notice’.
“Following this unpleasant development, the joint leadership meeting slated for this afternoon has been postponed till further notice because it cannot hold under the prevailing circumstances.
“We cannot guarantee the safety of the 20 members from both chambers expected at the meeting.”
The officers condemned the barricade of the National Assembly by security operatives, describing it as “a coup against democracy.
“The heavy presence of armed security men who unnecessarily militarised the legislative complex and harassed legislators and workers in the complex could not be justified in a democracy.
“Today is a sad day for democracy,” they said in the statement.
Meanwhile, former President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, reposted one of his quotes from 2015 which described the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a party which had no regard for human rights or democracy.
The message was posted on Jonathan’s official Facebook page while men of the Department of State Services laid siege to the National Assembly.
The post read in part, “The choice before Nigerians in the coming election is simple: A choice between going forward and going backward; between the new ways and the old ways; between freedom and repression; between a record of visible achievements and beneficial reforms and desperate power seekers with empty promises.”
The post elicited 683 comments and was shared nearly 2,000 times on Facebook within four hours.
A large number of Jonathan’s 2.2million followers hailed the former President for being a Democrat during his six years in office.
However, a few others berated Jonathan, reminding him of how under his watch in 2014, members of the House of Representatives were barred from gaining entry into the green chamber during a failed attempt to remove the then Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal.