Former Zambian President, Edgar Lungu, has alleged that the government of President Hakainde Hichilema is attacking democratic norms by using the parliament to strangle the opposition.

Lungu, who made the allegations during a press conference in Lusaka on Friday while reacting to the sacking of nine members of the Patriotic Front (PF) from the parliament during the week, said his party would vigorously contest the expulsions of the MPs through legal and political means.

Lungu further expressed what he described as serious concerns about the current administration’s erosion of democratic principles and the rule of law in Zambia.

He also accused the current government of misusing the Speaker’s office to target perceived opponents of the ruling party, calling it an abuse of power.

“During my tenure, we never interfered with the workings of the National Assembly. My government respected national principles and the separation of powers,” Lungu said.

He warned that if Zambia fails to oppose the unconstitutional expulsion of lawmakers, it would signal a dangerous attack on democracy, adding that the Hichilema administration is displaying dictatorial powers, contrast with his administration’s practices since 2015 when he took office.

“Sadly, the respect for power and democratic principles that we upheld has been undermined under the current government. Since Mr. Hakainde Hichilema assumed power, we have witnessed a decline in governance integrity,” Lungu lamented.

“Those familiar with Article 72 of the Constitution will appreciate its significance. It’s crucial that we uphold the rule of law and democratic norms in our country,” he concluded.

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Temitope Ilori, says an estimated two million Nigerians are living with HIV/AIDS.

Ilori, who disclosed this on Friday at a retreat organised for members of the House of Representatives Committee on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Lagos, stated that presently, around 1.7 million carriers were receiving treatment for the disease.

Speaking on the theme “Leadership For Sustainability Of The HIV Response: The Role of The Legislature,” the NACA DG highlighted the global goal of eradicating HIV/AIDS by 2030, noting the importance of legislative support in achieving sustainability and effective coordination of the national response.

“We are working with an average estimate of about 2 million Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS and about 1.7 million of them are on treatment,” she said.

“But be that as it may, we realise that in the past 20 years or so, most of the treatment and most of the national response are being funded by partners, international donors, and international aid.

“I think it is time we start talking about ownership and sustainability.

“We have what we call the new business model. This is trying to use both national and subnational structures to take ownership, and to sustain the national response.

“We have a target of eradicating HIV/AIDS by the year 2030 which is the global target and we are trying to work towards achieving this.

“So, we believe that as stakeholders in this project, the honorable members supervising us as the ATM committee should be well abreast of the situation as at today and what our roadmap and our vision and mission are, and how we want to achieve the target to ensure the sustainability and ownership of the national response.

“That is why we deem it fit. The objective is mainly to foster the commitment of you honourable legislators to the ownership and sustainability of the HIV response and also to facilitate the effectiveness of the HIV response in terms of coordination and oversight function which I know is your primary assignment.”

Nigeria Country Director of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Leo Zekeng, who also spoke at the retreat, emphasized the severity of the HIV/AIDS disease, noting that it had infected around 80 million people and caused 40 million deaths globally over the past half-century.

“Remarkable progress had been made in reducing new HIV infections. We estimated that in 2023, we registered about 75,000 new infections. This is 8,800 per week. We have registered 45,000 AIDs-related deaths. About 900 per week,” Zekeng said.

Zekeng harped on the unsustainability of donor-dependent funding and called for greater legislative involvement to sustain the HIV response, adding that Nigeria was falling short of the Abuja Declaration’s goal of allocating 15 percent of the national budget to health.

“We passed the Abuja declaration of spending 15 percent of our budget for health. We are getting merely around 5 percent. And you will agree with me this is unacceptable. Nigeria is a very rich country,” he noted.