A civil rights group, the African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack Col. Tony Nyiam (retd) from the Presidential Advisory Committee on the proposed National Dialogue and prosecute him for allegedly attacking Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State during the committee’s public hearing in Benin City on Monday, October 28.

The group which made the call on yesterday in Abuja also demanded an apology from Nyiam to Oshiomhole and the people of the South-South “for bungling the discussions in Benin City.”

According to the group, “The embarrassment speaks volumes of the motives for the national dialogue.”

ANEEJ in a statement issued by the Executive Director, Rev. David Ugolor, accused Col. Nyiam of “working in concert with some political thugs” and brought the proceedings to an abrupt end as a result of their inability to respect or condone alternative view expressed by Governor Oshiomhole.

Ugolor said: “If historical antecedents of Col. Tony Nyiam is anything to go by, we recall his active participation in a coup d’état led by Gideon Gwarzo Okar which sought to topple the Ibrahim Babangida dictatorship in 1990 and, later pardoned by the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime.

“It is, therefore, not surprising that such a character could jump up from his seat as an organiser of the consultation to shout down a serving state governor who was only expressing his personal opinion.

“We condemn Col. Tony Nyiam’s actions and we call on him to tender a public apology to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Nigerians of the South South extraction. We therefore call on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack Col. Tony Nyiam (rtd) from the committee and prosecute him for violating the right of a citizen, a serving state governor for that matter, for expressing himself in an honest and frank manner.”

ANEEJ said that Col. Nyiam’s action has exposed the fears of many Nigerians towards the proposed national dialogue.

According to the group: “The choice of personalities like Nyiam as member of the Presidential Advisory Committee truly speaks volumes of what is to come out of the proposed national dialogue. His presence in the committee is ironical; this is because Nyiam’s antecedents betray a national dialogue.

“In a democracy, there is freedom of speech and no individual or group can volunteer to violate the rights of other citizens from expressing themselves in the preparation of a national dialogue that, in itself, seeks to bring people together to express themselves.

“We now wonder what the planned conference seeks to achieve if people are expected to say only what the committee wants to hear. We are left with the impression that the planned national dialogue will not be different from others previously organised national jamborees where public funds are brazenly wasted on unprofitable ventures.”

•Photo, courtesy Vanguard, shows Nyiam launching a tirade against Gov. Oshiomhole . . .on Monday in Benin City.

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