Egypt: NCP Asks Mubarak To Resign

The National Chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Femi Falana has asked the embattled  Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign and accept the clear statement of rejection of his  unpopular and corrupt government by millions of Egyptians who have demonstrated for days demanding  their right to good governance, and responsive government.

Several demonstrators have been killed in four days of protests in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and  other Egyptian cities. Police have fired rubber bullets and tear-gas, used water cannon and baton  charges, and even thrown rocks at protesters. Over 1,200 have been arrested over the past six days,  many of them still in detention, and many others beaten. The government has warned that further  demonstrations will not be tolerated.

In a statement dated 30 January 2011, Falana said, “We welcome the unfolding revolution and the  demonstration of peoples’ power against bad governance, corruption, poverty, and oppression in  Egypt.  We strongly condemn the violence and repression by the Mubarak-led government against the  demonstrators who are simply exercising their internationally recognised human rights to assembly  and peaceful demonstration. Violence against Egyptians should stop. President Mubarak must resign  now, and listen to the voices of millions of Egyptians who are demanding a change for a better  future.”

“Using excessive force to crackdown on peaceful protests and torturing protesters are grave  breaches of international human rights law, and the African Union must publicly condemn the  practice. The AU must side with the Egyptian people if it is to show that it is completely  different from the defunct Organization of African Unity (OAU), whose sole purpose was to defend  African dictators and not the African peoples.”

“The examples of Tunisia and Egypt also show that African dictators will now find it harder to  justify authoritarian rule and dictatorships, and difficult to maintain power.

“In the case of Nigeria, we reject people of violence and those who have held back the progress of  our country for decades. We urge Nigerians to take full advantage of the forthcoming elections to  reject and vote out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government. We call on the youths to get  organised and participate fully in the elections to elect leaders who will reverse the  retrogression, poverty, corruption, underdevelopment and misery that have characterised many years  of the PDP government.”

Nigeria is blessed with enormous natural resources, and this government has earned huge revenue  from the resources of our people but has nothing to show in terms of development, and provision of  basic necessities of life for millions of Nigerians who continue to face absolute poverty.”