…..Those Calling For Buhari’s Resignation Are Opportunistic Politicians and Parasitic Individuals – – MURIC
By ‘Dotun Akintomide
The prolonged medical attention, President Muhammadu Buhari has continued to draw among Nigerians over his secretive ailment without any sigh of relief in days to come could make the country have an “absentee President” till May 29, 2019 when this current administration will elapse.
This, The New Diplomat gathered from Afenifere, the Pan-Yoruba socio-political group and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) that the constitutional lacuna in the 1999 constitution which does not stipulate the number of days a President could be away from the country either for health reasons or any other matter, means President Buhari could be absent from the seat of power for the next two years when this administration would be reigned in, without breaching any constitutional provision.
The National Publicity Secretary, Afenifere Renewal Group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin said, having complied with the section 145 of the 1999 constitution by transferring power to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, the nation cannot go back to section 144 to institute any further action against the President constitutionally.
“If the President has not complied with section 145 now, we can say let’s go back to section 144. But since he has complied, there is nothing we can do and that’s one of the lacunae in our constitution, because Abacha wrote the constitution to succeed himself and he deliberately inserted the lacuna in the constitution. So, as it is now, if the President didn’t come back till may 29, 2019, he hasn’t committed any offence. That’s the truth of the matter.”
When asked on the best action that should be taken by the national assembly and the Presidency to address the looming political question that would continue to beg for answer, if the President’s health continues to fail him, Odumakin said Nigerians may not have cause for alarm since power has been constitutionally transmitted to the Acting President.
“The constitution is very clear that when the President is not around, he should transfer a letter to the national assembly and by him transferring the letter, the Vice President takes over and since, he has complied with that directive, asking him to resign will be very preposterous.
“Our position (at Afenifere) is that the Acting President should be allowed to run the government, while the President is away. And the talk by Lai Mohammed that we don’t know who would sign the budget, Enang saying he (Acting President) would not sign and later saying he would sign, they should stop all that nonsense. He should be allowed to act fully until the President comes back from his medical vacation,” Odumakin stated.
Similarly, the Second Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Barrister Onyekachi Ubani agreed that although, the constitution did not stipulates the number of days that the President could be away before the Federal Executive Council members take a decision on his prolonged absence, the presidential powers has been constitutionally transmitted to the Vice President.
Ubani said there has been a suggested amendment in the last Confab report to stipulate the number of days the President could be away, but it has not been effected, that if the President is away for perhaps three months for instance, the Vice could be sworn-in in his place as the substantive President.
He argued despite what has been perceived as a constitutional crisis in the days ahead, there is no new doctrine of neccessity.
“What has happened is that under the current law, the needed thing for the President is to transmit power to the Vice President as the Acting President which he has done, and the President has the right to exercise all the powers of the President, unless the President now transmit a letter to the contrary,” Ubani said.
He further told The New Diplomat that should the President continues to be away on health ground it would almost amount to an unrealistic goal trying to remove him from office, despite his visible incapacity with the unassailable dictates of section 144 of the 1999 constitution as amended.
Ubani in his interpretation of the section explains, “the law states that it is the two-third majority of the house that can pass a resolution to affirm that the President is not capable of performing his constitutional roles as a President, it is after that, that the resolution would be transmitted to the national assembly to be verified by the Senate President and the House Speaker after which a medical team of five members would be constituted, one of which must be the President’s personal medical doctor and the other four would be specialists with expertise knowledge in the area of the President’s specific ailment to carry out a thorough examination on him. This will be followed by the forwarding of the medical team’s report to the Senate President and House Speaker which will be published in a gazette. It’s after the publication that the President or the Vice President in any case would cease to act in that position.”
Ubani, however, observed that the chances of passing such resolution are very slim, “going by the fact that, it is the FEC members that would initiate the process before bringing the national assembly to it, it could be practically impossible for the two third majority of the FEC members to garner the required number of vote and pass such a resolution since, they are all appointees of the President.”
He said unlike the Yar’Adua’s power play, the only good thing that has happened with Buhari’s is that power has been constitutionally transmitted to the Vice President, now the Acting President.
On the said fifth columnists at the presidency rumoured to be making attempt at usurping the Acting President’s powers, Ubani disagreed saying, “though, I don’t work in the presidency, but the Acting President hasn’t told us a certain cabal is preventing him from carrying out his constitutional responsibilities, until the Acting President speaks out, I will take that as mere assumption coming from people who thought otherwise.”
Speaking further, the Afenifere’s spokesman, Odumakin maintained that since, Osinbajo has said, he hasn’t seen any cabal in the government, he should be allowed to do his job and deliver good governance to the nation.
“But, Osinbajo has come out to say there is no cabal at the presidency, he said he has looked round for them and he could not found one, so why the rumours.”
Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the recent call by the Bring Back Our Girls Co-convener, Aisha Yesufu calling for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari, the President of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Professor Ishaq Akintola had said those calling for his resignation are disgruntled elements, describing them as willing tools in the hands of opportunistic politicians and parasitic individuals in the corridors of power.
Yesufu had called for the President’s resignation in a two-minute video clip posted on her official Twitter handle last Friday.
She said, “when are we going to realise that this Acting President (arrangement) is really not just working out? Things are stagnant in Nigeria. For crying out loud, the President is sick, the President is not capable of discharging his duties as President. Why can’t he resign?
But Professor Akintola in his reaction has dismissed the call, saying there is no justification for making such demand on the President.
“There is no justification whatsoever for the President to resign. I believe that the Vice President is capable and that no cabal can hinder him from performing.
“He did wonderfully well the first time
Buhari was abroad. Those calling for Buhari’s resignation are an impatient bunch, disgruntled elements and willing tools in the hands of opportunistic politicians and parasitic individuals in the
corridors of power,” Akintola stated.
