9JA NEWS: NADECO cautions FG, says democracy under threat

The National Democratic Coalition has called on the Federal Government to be cautious in the way it handles agitations in the country, just as it urged Nigerians to rise and defend the nation’s democracy.

Speaking against the recent deployment of soldiers in the southeastern part of the country, the group said military actions that were inconsistent with the constitution, if unchecked, could be the beginning of the “subversion of democracy” in Nigeria.

The chairman of the group, Rear Admiral Godwin Kanu (retd.), in a statement on Friday, said all the agitations and instability in the system were due to “an inverted federation, which the military converted Nigeria to.”

While explaining that all the calls for restructuring were simply to restore Nigeria to a proper federation, he queried why it should offend some people to the extent that they were using every method, including military incursion, to prevent it.

Kanu added, “We are troubled by recent national developments and are forced to issue this warning to all our compatriots that democracy is under threat in our nation.

“NADECO has long affirmed that the way to restore justice, equity and fair play in our polity is to implement federalism. It is rather unfortunate that some political actors are trying to confuse Nigerians regarding the true meaning of federalism. This effort to misinform, especially by some political parties, is a dangerous play and deceitful ploy.”