yesterday asked Nigerians to watch the way they
abuse President Goodluck Jonathan, describing
the trend as threat to democracy.
Elechi, who was addressing people of the state at
the Democracy Day celebration held in
Abakaliki, spoke on "The imperative of freedom
in a Democracy,".
He said democracy did not give Nigerians the
freedom to abuse those in power.
He said: "It is regrettable that for some
uninformed or uncharitable minds, freedom has
degenerated to licentiousness both in utterance
and in behaviour, leading ultimately to
substantial abuse of freedom.
"The way the President is abused, forgetting the
dignity of his office and what he means to the
country, is a sad reminder that some of us do not
either know the meaning of freedom or have
forgotten the journey that brought us so far.
"Public institutions and offices, in so far as they
represent the public will, deserve to be respected
and, through constructive criticisms, be enabled
to flourish. This is our permanent task as
citizens of a freedom nation.
"There is also a backward slide in the display of
honesty as corruption is taking the centre stage
in public life."
Elechi, however, advised Nigerians to follow in
the foot steps of the nation's forefathers.
He said: "If, from a very harsh background and
from challenging beginning, our forefathers
laboured so honestly to bring us to where we are
today, then we of the present generation has no
excuse for a backward slide."
Elechi also announced that local government
council elections will hold in a few months' time
but added a warning, "Let our political gladiators
know that this administration will go any length
to ensure prevalence of peace borne out of the
imperative of the peoples' right to freedom."
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