I Didn’t Sponsor Bill to Criminalise Protests, Says Lawmaker

The member of the House of Representatives representing Ahiazu Mbaise and Ehinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency of Imo State, Hon. Emeka Chinedu has said that he didn’t sponsor a bill criminalising protests in the country.

In a statement he issued yesterday, the lawmaker clarified that his bill which passed the first reading on Tuesday was twisted and misinterpreted, saying it was not seeking to jail protesters.

Chinedu said as a product of democracy he would not sponsor any bill that would criminalise protests and protesters.

“Having been inundated with calls and messages over a misconception gone viral, I wish to state that I am the PDP House of Representatives member representing the good people of Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal

Constituency in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly, whose Bill that passed first reading on the floor of the chamber was twisted and misrepresented.

“The caption of the Bill that went viral was never my intent or opinion, neither was it an embodiment of the Bill I sponsored that passed the first reading on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday, July 6, 2021; hence, a clear case of misunderstanding, misconception and misrepresentation of the facts.

“As a representative of the people, whose political idealogy is rooted in democratic tenets, I can never be a party to a system that seeks to stifle or cripple dissenting voices whose right to freedom of assembly, expression and protest is guaranteed by the combined effort of section 39 and 40 of 1999 Constitution as amended, as well as Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Right to freely assemble.