HOW SOUTHERN LEADERS’ FLIGHT WAS DENIED LANDING PERMIT…Nwodo Warns, Nigeria Sliding Into Dictatorship… Middle-Belt Leaders Insist On Restructuring

The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, frontline Igbo socio-cultural group, Chief John Nwodo, Monday warned that some recent actions of the federal government showed that the country was sliding into dictatorship.

Nwodo spoke at a news conference in Abuja, where he said that a chartered flight that was to take some Southern leaders to Makurdi for a rally was refused landing permit at the Benue State capital.

With him at the news conference, were the First Republic Information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark; former Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife; and Afenifere Leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo.

The leaders were billed to attend the Middle Belt Forum’s rally on restructuring in Makurdi.

Nevertheless, the rally held with the Forum’s leaders restating their belief in the total restructuring of Nigeria.

“We were told at the airport that our chartered flight has no permit to land in Makurdi,” he said, adding that upon inquiry, they were told that the directive not to allow their plane to land in Makurdi was from above.

According to him, “We were at the airport in Abuja as early as possible to get a chartered flight to Makurdi but at the point of payment, we were advised to confirm the issue of landing permit from the Airport Commandant in Makurdi.

“At that point, we were made to understand that the request for the landing permit of our chartered flight is on the table of the Commandant, Lt. Commander A. Audu, who we learnt said for security reasons no aircraft will be allowed to land in Makurdi on Monday.”

THISDAY, however, learnt Monday that the Southern leaders might not have been properly briefed about the status of the Makurdi Airport, as an informed explained that being a military facility, civil flights needed the permission of the military authority to operate, to and from, the airport.

Nwodo, however, told the press that the Southern leaders missed the meeting with their Middle Belt counterparts on restructuring in Makurdi, which was supposed to be a follow-up to similar ones successfully held earlier in Ibadan, Yenagoa, and Awka.

Nwodo, also a former information minister, said their inability to fly to Makurdi was an infringement on their fundamental rights.

He wondered why they were denied freedom of movement and association since no known law had been breached by them.

“We are sliding into a dictatorship under a democratic government,” he exclaimed.

He specifically mentioned the Executive Order 006 recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari giving him express power to confiscate people’s property.

“This is condemnable as the Constitution is very explicit about the functions of the three arms of government, and not for the Executive to be using the powers of the Legislature. That is why there is separation of powers,” Nwodo said.