Some socio-cultural organisations have faulted the call for an interim government by a legal luminary, Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, stating that it may lead to state capture by the military.
According to them, democracy should be continuous and unbroken to be effective.
Babalola had, at a press conference, recently asked that the 2023 general election be suspended until a new constitution was put in place.
He further advocated an interim government to replace the regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in 2023, a move which the Coalition of Northern Groups, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Pan-Niger Delta Forum kicked against.
The spokesperson for the CNG, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, said Babalola’s suggestion was “undemocratic and should not be taken seriously”.
According to Suleiman, the only acceptable, democratic norm for the transfer of power is through elections and nothing else.
“The truth is such calls, coming from whomever or wherever, are merely symptoms of an extreme expression of discontent with a system. We don’t need to go the extreme with demands for the review of the manner our country is structured and operated. It could have grave consequences such as a military takeover.
“The CNG has already made a mark as a voice that protects the North from ever again jumping onto flights without knowing their actual destinations. The advocates of this undemocratic arrangement can come up with their justifications.
“But no matter the frustration, real or imagined, the fact remains that what Nigeria urgently needs is a stable political environment and an interim government is unstable. Of course, there is a need for adjustment of the constitution, but there are decent civil regulations that guide the process for achieving that.
“The constitution has mandated a periodic election and until that provision of the constitution is amended or there is a revolution overthrowing that constitution, it is not possible to have an interim government in place.
“We don’t dispute that it is a good idea to have a new constitution for Nigeria but the call for an interim government is not practicable,” he stated.
Also speaking, Chief Alex Ogbonnia, the spokesperson for the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, stated that the group was not in support of an “interim government of any kind or sort”.
“If that is done, Nigeria will begin to move in the right direction. If the right decisions and right approaches to issues are taken, Nigerians will see it. The bane of Nigeria is that they do the wrong thing and expect a good outcome which is impossible. When there is a wrong input, the output would also be wrong,” Ogbonnia said.
Similarly, the spokesperson for PANDEF, Mr Ken Robinson, said it was rather unfortunate for “those kinds of comments to be coming from someone of his (Babalola’s) status.
He urged Babalola to encourage the President Buhari to ensure the conduct of a free and fair electioneering process in the forthcoming elections.
“PANDEF does not agree with Afe Babalola on this issue of an interim government. It is unfortunate. We think it is a distraction and it is unnecessary and uncalled for.
“This kind of suggestion can lead the country to an unfortunate crisis that will undermine the nation’s democracy. We are going towards continuous democratic rule for about 24 years in 2023 and what we expect people like Afe Babalola to do is to encourage the system to perform better.
“He should encourage the (Muhammadu) Buhari regime to conduct free and fair elections and have a smooth transition of government to the PDP or APC or any other party,” Robinson said.
“Don’t forget that it was an interim government of Shonekan that was declared illegal by a court of competent jurisdiction that brought about the (Sani) Abacha regime,” he added.