The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the Department of State Security must haul Asari Dokubo before it over provocative statements made by the former Niger Delta militant.
‘’There is no better test of the fairness, non-partisanship and professionalism of the SSS than the Asari-Dokubo’s threat of war on his country. If Asari-Dokubo is not above the laws of the land, he must be hauled before the SSS, just as the service did to our deputy national secretary, to explain his statement,’’ the APC said in a statement signed by its interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The statement added, “What on earth gave Asari-Dokubo the confidence to issue threats against the nation? If he doesn’t care about elections and democracy, how else could his hero, President Jonathan, have come to power? Does he know the meaning of anarchy? Does he think anyone, no matter how big, is more important than his country or bigger than its constitution?
“When he said President Jonathan ‘must complete the mandatory constitutionally-allowable two terms of eight years’ or the militants will make Nigeria ungovernable, was he aware that even the North that has become his favourite whipping boy did not complete its own eight years before his kinsman became President?
‘’It is not Asari-Dokubo’s fault. When we warned against the handing over of the nation’s maritime security to a company owned by an ex-militant in 2012, many thought we were crying wolf where none existed. But the threat by an ex-militant to ensure that no vessel will be allowed to enter the nation’s territorial waters unless President Jonathan is re-elected has shown the dangers inherent in such actions,’’ APC said.
Speaking on the specific statement whereby Asari Dokubo said APC must field a South South candidate, the APC said it wondered what gave him the audacity to make such a pronouncement.
‘’We, in the APC, will never be cowed by the senseless, emotional outburst of a man, whose sense of decency stretches the size of a coin. We say that Nigeria will survive and thrive, whether or not some people want it. We reiterate the truism that election is the bedrock of democracy, and that anointing of candidates – as Asari-Dokubo would want Nigeria’s political parties to do – is the antithesis of democracy,’’ the party said.