Warning Against Impeachment

THISDAY, however, gathered that Tuesday’s joint session encountered some turbulence when the issue of impeachment of the president was raised, in the event that the Executive fails to address the resolutions reached.

The president’s loyalists had frowned upon any move or attempt that appeared to threaten Buhari’s stay in office.

Speaking on the development Tuesday, Hon. Muhammed Gudaji Kazaure (APC, Jigawa), who heads the Justice and Fairness Group of the 8th Assembly – a group created to solely guard against threats to the president — at a press briefing after the joint session, warned: “We will not allow anybody to touch the integrity of the president and that’s the aim of this group. We have members in the Senate that are with us.”

He said though the group agreed with all other members that there had been shortcomings by the present administration especially in the areas of security, harassment of the opposition and members of the legislature by the security forces, as well as the need to improve the welfare of Nigerians, the option of impeachment was a no-go-area for the group.

Kazaure also revealed that his group was aware that some members in the House, particularly those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had started to collate signatures in order to serve an impeachment notice against the president.

He pointedly called out Hon. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) and Hon. Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) as the leading voices for the impeachment of Buhari.

Elaborating on the resolutions reached at the joint closed-door meeting of both chambers, Kazaure said: “Today we did a joint sitting with the Senate and House of Representatives over the problems between the Executive arm of government and the National Assembly in general.

“And we came up with between 11 to 12 resolutions which are all good as we talked about the issue of killing of innocent people in this country and concluded that it must be stopped, whichever way the service chiefs choose to end them.

“Then we took a resolution that definitely we are approaching the 2019 elections and we have to improve the welfare of Nigerians especially at this period when the price of crude oil has almost risen to $80 per barrel.

“We have to improve the welfare of citizens of this country so they can see real change before we go for the 2019 elections.

“Then we took a vote of no confidence on the Inspector General of Police (IG) because the majority of the problems – sometimes the police accuse people without proper investigation – and this will bring serious problems between both arms of government. We want the executive and legislative face-off to end.

“Then we agreed that if the government fails to address all our resolutions, we will resort to the last legislative action available.”

Kazaure, however, said his group was not in support of any attempt to remove the president, noting: “Many of us were not in support of that resolution because many of us are not in support of threatening the president.

“The president we know is a man of integrity. We know his hands are clean, but some people who surround him are the real issue. And I’m calling on the president to checkmate those persons, particularly those whom the masses are complaining about, and bring in people that will move this country forward because enough is enough.

“We don’t want a situation whereby people will create problems for the president and we will come to the House and complain about the president while the president is sometimes inside the Villa and doesn’t even know what’s going on in the country; because it is expected that they come and brief him, and some brief him wrongly, that’s the reality.

“As we are in the House, we have some members in the Senate and I’m sure we will not allow anybody to threaten the president. Nobody will impeach the president because that day will be a whole day.

“We know that no one will be bold enough to come and show us that they will be able to impeach the president in the chamber because there are no two-thirds in the House. Our group is strong enough to stop anything called impeachment.”

The lawmaker said he had never witnessed such a tense joint sitting of both chambers, where there were several contradictions in arriving at the resolutions.

He, however, pointed out that the lawmakers were all in agreement that they were uncertain of winning their elections if things continue on the current trajectory.

Group Disagrees with Resolutions

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Support Group of the Senate and House led by Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin (APC, Kano) Tuesday criticised the joint session of the National Assembly, saying it did not have the endorsement of most APC lawmakers.

In a statement signed and issued by Jibrin, the group revealed that most of the lawmakers who spoke at the meeting were members of the opposition PDP, hence the anti-administration resolutions reached at the meeting.

According to the group, “That almost all the members and senators that spoke at the executive session were of the PDP, while members of the APC declined joining the discussion to avoid a rowdy confrontation, so the entire session could easily pass for a PDP executive session.

“That it is commendable that the Speaker tactically refused to make any comment at the session even after the Senate President took time to explain the issues which are mostly personal.

“That it is disturbing and raised many questions of pre-determined intentions that a known ally of the Senate President from Kwara State, Hon Rasak Atunwa drafted what was adopted as the resolutions and without voting, which was against standard parliamentary practice.

“That most of the issues raised concerning the fight against corruption, insecurity and the rule of law have been severally discussed in the Senate and the House and various resolutions passed.

“That we commend the efforts of Mr. President in the fight against corruption, tackling of the insecurity challenges and respect for the rule of law and democratic institutions. Mr President is known for his non-interference policy.

“That every senator or member of the House who has corruption or criminal allegations against him or her should clear his or her name without dragging the entire institution of the National Assembly into the matter.

“That the National Assembly should also look inwards and address the issue of suffocating senators and members of the House with dissenting or contrary opinions through coercion or extra-legal means.

“That the PDP should recall how its members in the 7th Assembly sat comfortably in the chamber and watched a sitting Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal locked out of the National Assembly and all his security personnel withdrawn while APC members had to scale the fence to gain entrance into the National Assembly.

“That we must exercise caution at this delicate period not to overheat the polity with statements that are capable of dividing the country, embarrassing us before the watching world and creating friction between the Legislature, Executive and specifically Mr. President.

“We wish to reaffirm our support for Mr. President as he works assiduously towards dealing with the challenges of our country.”

PDP: N’Assembly Has Vindicated Us

But even as more information emerge as to what actually transpired at the joint session of the National Assembly Tuesday trickle in, the PDP stated that the resolutions of the legislature against the president and his government were a vindication of its stance on the Buhari administration.

The PDP commended the members of the National Assembly for their patriotism and courage in unanimously standing up for democracy, the rule of law, national stability and cohesion at this trying time.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP said that it has “consistently pointed to the misrule of the Buhari presidency, as well as the unrelenting violation of our Constitution, unprecedented Executive highhandedness, abuse of the rights of citizens and the erosion of all known democratic norms under this administration”.

It said in addition, the APC-led government has foisted a siege mentality on Nigerians as well as presidential aloofness to important issues of state, thereby resulting in the escalation of violence, killings and daily bloodletting in the country.

“From the above, it has become evident that Mr. President must be called to order through an appropriate legislative instrument. The PDP therefore calls on all democrats across the board, irrespective of party affiliations, to come together, support the National Assembly and save our democracy from the misrule of the Buhari presidency,” the main opposition party stated.