| Failed Contract: Edo Assembly invites EFCC |
| Wednesday, 10 June 2009 00:03 |
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Public officers should desist from actions and utterances that are capable of causing unnecessary friction between Nigeria and her development partners, especially at this critical period of economic meltdown, Senator Isaiah Balat has cautioned.
Senator Balat who was a former Works Minister, expressed shock on the recent statement credited to the National Vice-chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Bello Haliru Mohamed, where he alleged that the US was planning to destabilize Nigeria. In a press statement, the senator observed that such utterances, if not properly handled could have adverse implications on the nation’s diplomatic effort on many fronts. ``At this critical period, government and party leaders must show restraint and guard against actions capable of distracting the President from the realization of the seven-point agenda,`` he advised. Balat while expressing support for Yar’adua’s commitment to due process and the rule of law, urged him to ensure that the electoral reforms usher in internal democracy within the PDP. According to him, it is only internal democracy that will ensure the emergence of credible candidates who will in turn deliver on promises that they have made and thus improve the popularity of the PDP. He then called on Nigerians to continue to be law abiding, tolerant of one another and promote peaceful co-existence and the common good. He pointed out that although demands and agitations were part of democracy, they must be carried out within the confines of the law. The former minister also condoled the Nigerian Union of Journalists(NUJ) on the death of veteran journalist, Sani Babadoko, the late Kaduna bureau chief of Leadership newspaper, describing it as a setback in the quest to develop a truly informed citizenry. Balat called on the NUJ to always strive to maintain the highest professional standard as a way of immortalizing Babadoko who died on active duty. |