By Emmanuel Mogbede
The people of Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, demanding the removal of Nicholas Mutu from the House of Representatives, after his 27-year stay.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protest, which lasted several hours, disrupted activities within and around the APC secretariat, bringing human and vehicular movements as well as commercial activities within the area to a temporary halt
The protesters, who carried placards with various inscriptions, were seeing chanting solidarity songs, calling on the party’s national leadership to uphold the principles of fairness, equity, democratic participation and political inclusion, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Some of the placards read: “28 years is enough. Expand the political space”, “Democracy must allow leadership renewal”, “Patani deserves fair representation; no office should be occupied forever” and “Allow democracy to breathe in Bomadi/Patani”, among others.
The protesters described the prolonged occupation of the federal constituency seat by one individual since the return to democracy in 1999 as unhealthy for democratic expansion, leadership succession and broader political participation within the constituency.
The President of Bomadi/Patani Concerned Citizens Forum, According to Mr Chris Anthony, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, said democracy was never intended to function as a permanent political entitlement for one individual.
This, he said, was especially while other qualified and capable citizens had remained excluded from representation for decades.
Anthony said that the agitation currently sweeping across the federal constituency was not rooted in hatred or personal hostility toward Mutu, but in the legitimate democratic desire for leadership reset.
He said it was also about expansion of political space, generational inclusion and fair rotational representation between Bomadi and Patani local government areas.
“After almost three decades of uninterrupted representation, the constituency should ordinarily have witnessed stronger federal presence, transformative infrastructure and broader political empowerment.
“It ought to have also witnessed significant developmental interventions commensurate with the strategic influence associated with such prolonged legislative seniority.
“But sadly, that is not the case, and particularly worrisome is the continued environmental and ecological vulnerability facing several communities within the constituency, including his (Mitu’s) own community of Akugbene.
“That community has remained under severe threat from coastal and environmental erosion in spite of Mutu’s years as a federal representative and heading strategic committees,” he said.
Anthony further stated that while political experience and legislative seniority were valuable assets, such experience must ultimately translate into measurable impacts, visible constituency advancement and broader democratic inclusion.
He noted that the people of the federal constituency were increasingly weary of what they described as prolonged political stagnation without corresponding transformational development.
Other stakeholders, who spoke during the protest, said that the movement represented a growing democratic consciousness among the people and should not be dismissed as ordinary political opposition.
According to them, the agitation reflects deep concerns about inclusion, fairness, leadership succession and the future stability of the constituency.
They, therefore, called on the APC national leadership, the Delta governor, party stakeholders and democratic institutions to listen carefully to the voice of the people and ensure that the 2027 electoral process in the constituency remained open, fair, transparent and free from undue political patronage or imposition.
They also warned that ignoring the growing public sentiment within the constituency could further deepen political dissatisfaction and weaken public confidence in democratic participation.
They, however, reaffirmed their commitment to lawful democratic engagement, peaceful civic participation and continued advocacy for fairness, equity, political inclusion and democratic renewal in Bomadi/Patani federal constituency.
(NAN)