Finally Nigerian National Assembly Acts But
Is This Constitutional?
By
Paul I. Adujie
Lawcareer@gmail.com
New York, United States
FINALLY!
That was the word I yelled out, upon learning that the National Assembly
of Nigeria had voted to authorize our vice president to assume
presidential duties, in an acting capacity, until further notice and until
the true condition and fate of our substantive president, President Umaru
Musa YarAdua is determined.
BUT, this is not what the constitution provides! This is certainly meets
the demands of expediency and our national exigent circumstances, it might
serve as sedge way out of this prolong political and constitutional crises
However, it must, for the avoidance of doubt and for the record, it must
be stated and restated that the Constitution of Nigeria does provide for,
and in particular, section 145 does require a sitting president to
transmit a letter to the president of the senate, which is in turn
considered by the National Assembly of Nigeria, the Senate and the House
of Representatives, the upper and lower chambers of our national
legislature that is.
The current action of the National Assembly is obviously, and
understandably so, an attempt to douse the tensions which have be brought
upon and wrought upon Nigeria, by the neglect and refusal by President
Umaru Musa YarAdua to simply comply with the constitution of Nigeria.
President YarAdua’s departure from presidential duties, in violation of
provisions of the constitution of Nigeria, created a power void and power
vacuum. President YarAdua prevented a constitutionally stipulated power
devolution, which should have been uneventful and seamlessly carried out.
The Senate President, Senator David Mark, in announcing the action of the
National Assembly, predicated the vote to install Vice President Goodluck
Jonathan as an acting president, on a BBC Radio Broadcast by President
YarAdua, a broadcast which was made by President YarAdua in response to
clamor by Nigerians for him to transmit the constitutionally mandated
letter in compliance with section 145 of the constitution of Nigeria. Our
constitution is quite unambiguous on the issues at stake.
Senator David Mark was quoted as saying that, "The BBC interview granted
by the president is as good as the letter envisaged in the constitution
because if you go onto the Internet, you will see a copy of what he
said," It take the view that a radio broadcast is not similar or
identical to a letter as specifically and clearly directed by section 145
of the constitution of Nigeria. I take a very dim view that this BBC Radio
broadcast which was referred and alluded to by Senator David Mark, is not
sufficient and therefore, it is no substitute to the specific exactitude
spelled out in definite language in our constitution. Besides, the
National Assembly may be setting an unprecedented precedent for our
nation.
Deeming the BBC Radio broadcast as a substitute or amalgam of message and
news, and therefore construed as if, the president actually sent a
“message” had complied with the constitution, is really a stretch, as it
amounts to an extraordinary interpretation of section 145 of the
constitution of Nigeria, without an amendment to the current provision of
145.
The constitution of Nigeria, mandates, stipulates, provides and
contemplates that the president will cease from presidential duties, only
under these numbered circumstances which follows:
1. A letter which shall, be properly transmitted from the president
regarding his or her absence from presidential duties, upon which the
National Assembly shall trigger the assumption of office by the vice
president as the acting president, until the substantive president returns
to president duties and or, other determinations are made in connection
with the continuing capacity and fitness of the substantive president.
2. The constitution also provides that a Nigerian president might cease to
be president through his or her voluntary resignation and departure from
presidential duties and presidency.
3. The president of Nigeria, may also be removed from presidential duties
and from office or the presidency through impeachment on grounds of gross
misconduct. And I have recently argued publicly that President YarAdua’s
neglect and refusal to transmit the letter as required by section 145 of
the constitution of Nigeria, amounted to an egregious violations of the
constitution and therefore, the National Assembly, can and should consider
such egregious violations as amounting to Gross Misconduct, and therefore
an Impeachable Offense.
In the absence of such of proper and effective compliance with section 145
of the constitution of Nigeria, which requires a president to transmit a
letter, as opposed to a BBC broadcast or some other substitute “suitable
or unsuitable” substitutes, it is doubtful, whether it is constitutional
for the National Assembly to act on it own, to interpret section 145 as
contemplating an indeterminate voice on a radio broadcast, BBC or not, as
the voice of President YarAdua. First, this is not what is mandated by our
constitution, and secondly, the BBC broadcast in question was never
authenticated. Whose voice was on BBC? Who determined that voice to be the
true, accurate and exact voice of Mr. YarAdua? It must be recalled that
this BBC Interview was widely reported worldwide as :
A Man Claiming To Be President YarAdua Speaks On BBC
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5510776-146/a_man_claiming_to_be_yaradua.csp
The constitution of Nigeria also provides and contemplates, a departure
from the presidency by the occupant of that high office, through voluntary
resignation by the substantive president of Nigeria. And here again, the
current situation or circumstances are not identical or similar to the
specificity of the constitution of Nigeria, regarding voluntary departure
and vacation from the presidency, by the occupant of that high office.
President Umaru Musa YarAdua, has for 78 days, neglected, refused to
transmit a letter stating or declaring his absence from presidential
duties. President YarAdua has therefore demonstrated an unwillingness to
voluntarily relinquish, even temporarily, the presidency to the vice
president as an acting president. President YarAdua has demonstrated
intransigence and recalcitrance and impervious to public demands that he
temporarily cede power to the vice president, it is therefore, quite clear
or at minimum, doubtful, that he would have resigned, and he has not!
This means then, that the resignation contemplated in the constitution of
Nigeria, has not taken place.
Thirdly, there is the matter of impeachment. The National Assembly has not
empanelled a committee to consider a set of gross misconducts and
determine such misconduct as impeachable offenses and therefore proceed to
impeach President YarAdua and properly remove his from office upon which
he will cease to be the current President of Nigeria, and again, what has
transpired in Nigeria as announced by the National Assembly, has not
complied with section 143 of the constitution of Nigeria which stipulates
clearly, the plethora of grounds, procedures and methods for a thorough
and proper impeachment of a sitting president of Nigeria.
What the National Assembly has done takes care of the exigent
circumstances... but, it is not provided for by our constitution! The
action by the National Assembly is could have come much earlier, but, it
is good that it finally did come. It may be a sedge way, to forestall and
to act as a stop-gap measure, perhaps an ad hoc measure, until a
constitutional action is undertaken, either by the president transmitting
the vexed letter through the National Assembly and PDP members and a
presidential Aide, scheduled to visit with President YarAdua in Saudi
Arabia shortly, or that President YarAdua voluntarily resigns as President
of Nigeria or that the National Assembly, finally live up to their
constitutional responsibilities by impeaching President Umaru Musa YarAdua!
The National Assembly will remain in the eye of the storm. The National
Assembly should perform a national duty, by taking the tiger by its tail,
insist that the president transmit the letter as specified, stipulated and
mandated by section 145 of the Constitution of Nigeria, or procure a
resignation from the president as haven resigned voluntarily, based on
physical-mental incapacitation or, sua sponte, the National Assembly
should on its on accord, impeach President YarAdua and remove him from
office as president of Nigeria.
Any actions and or pronouncements short of complying with the exampled and
examined constitutional sections and provisions above, will amount to
expedient actions or pronouncements and therefore, no adherence to the
constitution of Nigeria
Nigeria is a nation of laws, democracy require the enthronement of
constitutional due process and the rule of law, procedural and substantive
constitutional processes, we insist.
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