Wednesday, June 12, 2024 -The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, Peter Obi, has called on political leaders to return back to Democratic principles.
Making the call via his verified X
handle on Wednesday, June 13, Obi said democracy was fulfilling the
responsibilities of responsible governance as contained in the constitution.
Obi stated, “As our dear nation marks
Democracy Day today, commemorating 25 years of striving to be a democratic
country, the fundamental question for all of us remains: Are we truly
democratic?
“As we build a New Nigeria, these tenets
shall be the pillars of our true democracy. It is possible.”
The Labour Party leader also lamented some of the ratings, which he said were
indications that the nation is not truly democratic.
He added, “To further illustrate that
we are not truly democratic and have only produced the vices enumerated above,
we are now ranked as follows:
“In the measurement of democracy, we have a
democracy index score of 4.23, which ranks us low on the Global Democracy
Index. In the Corruption Perception Index, we are ranked 145th among the 180
countries measured, showing a high level of corruption in Nigeria.
“In the Rule of Law Measurement, we are ranked 120th out of 142 countries
measured in the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, indicating that
Nigeria suffers from gross disobedience to the rule of law.
“The 2024
World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) describes Nigeria
as one of West Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists.
“Nigeria
ranks 112th out of 180 countries where journalists are regularly monitored,
attacked, and arbitrarily arrested. We are ranked 109th out of 125 countries
measured on the Global Hunger Index,” he said.
“Let us, therefore, use the commemoration of June 12 as an occasion to return to a truly democratic nation. We achieved that feat on June 12, 1993, by collectively voting for democracy in Nigeria. We must stand in defence of Nigeria’s democracy today,” he added.
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