ABUJA - SENATOR Timothy Adudu (ANPP, Plateau) has expressed optimism that positive remarks from President Olusegun Obasanjo on the effect of emergency rule in Plateau State would soon lead to the restoration of democratic rule in the State.
In an interview with Vanguard, Senator Adudu, however, expressed the inappropriateness of the suspended Governor, Chief Joshua Dariye being returned to office.
He said that with President Obasanjo declaring Dariye as incompetent and nonchalant in his proclamation speech last May, that the best option left to the PDP was to recall the Governor from suspension and then impeach him from office.
Senator Adudu spoke against the background of last week’s visit by President Obasanjo to assess the effect of emergency rule in the formerly troubled State.
“He (Obasanjo) went to assess and according to him, he is satisfied with the level of development he has seen in the State. those of us from Plateau State can say that for now there is relative calmness as compared to what obtained in the past,” Senator Adudu, chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transport disclosed.
Affirming that the crisis was inspired by the internal political strife within the ruling PDP in the State, Adudu said: “What we must deduce from this is that the whole crisis was artificial, that is, it was man made. We wanted peace in Plateau State and how we got it does not matter to some people and some of us are also vindicated because we said that PDP as a party cannot deliver the goods to the people.”
“It was an in-house problem and we now know that the dramatis personae are within the PDP,” he further asserted.
Senator Adudu who admitted never liking the proclamation of emergency rule on the State expressed hope that the positive confessions of the President would sooner than later lead to the restoration of the suspended democratic structures in the State.
“Well, thank God the President went and saw and he said that things are getting calmer and I hope that in the next few months that we will go back to democratic rule.”
“If you listened to the President, he was satisfied with the level of peace that has been achieved within this three months and that means that Plateau State is on course to going back to enjoying its democratic norms as it was before the proclamation..”
Senator Adudu, however, demurred on the appropriateness of the suspended Governor, Chief Dariye being returned to office.
According to him the negative labels put on his rule and his person by the President had put the PDP in a fix on the propriety of returning Chief Dariye to office.
Reviewing the dilemma he said the PDP had found itself on the Dariye issue, he said the best option open to the party was to recall the Governor and then impeach him in order to satisfy constitutional requirements on the removal of an elected Governor.
