Ezrel Tabiowo takes an in-depth look at the recent alleged impeachment plot by some lawmakers of the National Assembly against President Goodluck Jonathan
The Brouhaha
Last week’s alleged move by some Senators to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Goodluck Jonathan has dominated discussions in the media and elicited reactions in the country’s political arena, with some questioning its feasibility and others referring to the plot as no more than bluff.
Senator Aliyu Jajere – representing Yobe South in the National Assembly – last Wednesday disclosed that an impeachment notice seeking the removal of the president from office will be presented to the Senate President, David Mark on December 16, 2014.
Jajere said that 70 lawmakers of the upper chamber including himself, in latest development, had appended their signatures to have the president impeached from office.
The development, which some political analysts have described as nothing but a mere threat on the president, has become a source of worry for the presidency, especially given the strained relationship that exists now between executive arm of government and the National Assembly.
Some other political observers have viewed the impeachment saga as nothing short of a phantom plot whose characters (the lawmakers), are simply out to cause a distraction on the administration of President Jonathan in view of the 2015 general elections – which is only a couple of months away.
Such observers, while describing the impeachment plot as solely the working of lawmakers particularly belonging the opposition All Progressive Party (APC), posited that same was intended to be a political strategy to further bring the already suffering reputation of the president to utmost disrepute, especially given his administration’s failure to tackle insurgency in the country, a situation which has led to the death of over twenty thousand Nigerians.
Analysts have argued that the phantom plot is merely one of the many strategies aimed at further dividing the National Assembly as well as deepening the existent gulf of executive-legislature relations.
The outcome of poor executive-legislature relations, such analysts further said, has seen to the late arrival of the 2015 budget which is three months late, and yet to be presented by the president to the National Assembly for consideration and passage.
Also, the spiralling effect of the sour relationship between the executive arm of government and National Assembly has seen to the inconclusive status of the recent request by the president for an extension of emergency rule in the three north east states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobes respectively, one that observers stated has been unduly politicised and turned into a battle for supremacy amongst majority PDP and opposition APC lawmakers in the National Assembly.
But the opposition lawmaker, Senator Jajere stated that the insistence by some senators numbering almost seventy – who had signed the impeachment move – was predicated on facts which found the President guilty of impeachable offences.
Senator Jajere made the disclosure while speaking to journalists after last Tuesday’s plenary.
He said: “I have signed the impeachment notice because there are impeachable offences against President Goodluck Jonathan.
“In 2011, this senate approved N240bn as subsidy fund but the same government spent N1.7trn which is a clear breach of the constitution, clear breach of the appropriation act. The business of government is to curtail excesses but this government has shown that it is incurably deficient in handling the situations in this country. That government cannot say it wants to continue. The president should have even resigned without waiting for him to be impeached.
According to him, it behoves the legislature to act as a check and balance because it is the most important symbol of democracy.
“If you don’t have the legislature, you don’t have democracy because every other arm of government exists even when there is no democracy. It is only the legislature that makes a democracy, a government,” Senator Jajere stressed.
Speaking on the alleged move to impeach President Jonathan, he said: “As at last week, 63 of us have signed up for the impeachment, my signature was the fourth but I can confirm to you that we have 63 signatures;but after the session today, two people had called me and told me that they want to sign. One of them is an APC senator who was away doing campaign because he is contesting the governorship election of his state. The other person is a PDP senator.
He added that the impeachment move is not just coming now, but a process that started early in the year and was interrupted midway.
The lawmaker from Yobe stated that upon initiation of impeachment notice, the National Assembly shall commit same to the Judiciary for completion of the process.
“There are issues that have triggered the National Assembly to do what it should do. No matter what the time, it is a three legged issue; the National Assembly will now have to initiate the process and then, submit that process to the judiciary. The judiciary will form a committee through the CJN; the National Assembly will carry out the verification of the committee and conclude the remaining process. The National Assembly will soon conclude our own side and submit the notice to the judiciary.
“As of today, the required signatures to initiate the impeachment notice had been obtained. The senate has adjourned to the 16th, so by that date the impeachment notice will be presented on the floor of the senate.
“Before the end of today I can assure you that the list will swell up to 70. It is on the impeachment day that we need two-third of the members to carry out the exercise but we need only one-third, which we already have, to initiate the process. It is just a matter of one day sitting. We will just push it before the two chambers,” he said.
But in a related development, Senator Ayogu Eze (PDP, Enugu North) described the impeachment allegation by Senator Jajere as nothing but a “blatant lie.”
His words: “Put me on record, Senator Jajere is a blatant liar for saying that 65 or 70 Senators have signed his alleged impeachment list against President Jonathan. The said list is non existence in the senate and why didn’t you tell him to show you the list on which he said he is number four and in particular, asked him who is number 65 there?
“Yes, there are some political opponents of the President in the Senate or even disgruntled ones, but the fact is that even if they want to make such move, they cannot even get up to 10 and where are they even going to table such rubbish. We are waiting for them anyway.
Reacting to the alleged offences listed by Jajere as reasons for the planned impeachment of President Jonathan, Senator Ayogu Eze said, “Even the reason reportedly cited by the senator for the so called impeachment move, stands logic on its head because how can you be bringing a non existing Offences of 2011 as impeachment Offences in 2014.
“Where were they in 2011 when the alleged Offences was committed by the President and don’t they even know that three other appropriation bills had been passed by the senate after the 2011 one?
“To me Jajere is a story teller. We are waiting for him and his other signatories who are more of spirits than human beings in the Senate. And let me put it to him and his other signatories that if they think they can intimidate the President or PDP out of power, they are just day dreaming because the man will contest the 2015 election and going by realities on the ground, he will win. So the earlier they realize this, the better for them,” he said.
He however urged politicians to be very cautious in their conducts and utterances ahead of the 2015 elections so as not to overheat the polity beyond manageable proportions.
Reactions trailing list
Reacting to their inclusion in the phantom plot to impeach the president, some lawmakers belonging to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressive Congress, APC, in the House of Representatives have distanced themselves from the plans by some members of the House, mostly opposition party members, to commence impeachment proceedings against President Goodluck Jonathan.
The PDP members described the inclusion of their names in the list of Reps in support of the impeachment of Jonathan as a scam and huge joke.
Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, in reaction to the development, said, “the claim of PDP members joining the purported impeachment plot was a huge joke.
“It is laughable and cheap blackmail to mention the President’s key men in the House as being part of the plot.” He continued, “This is clearly a scam. This is cheap blackmail by people who have lost direction.
“How can anyone say Mulikat (Akande-Adeola) and Leo Ogor are on the list to impeach Jonathan? How can the President’s henchmen be the ones to impeach him again? “They say they have over 200 people and they list PDP members, including myself and the majority leader? Is it not laughable?” He then advised the President not to lose sleep but continue with his transformation agenda, adding that the PDP caucus in the House is ready for any group that would “dare” to move any impeachment motion on the floor of the House.
Also, the Vice-Chairman, House Committee on Information Communication Technology, Mr. Tajudeen Yusuf, described the inclusion of his name in the list of lawmakers plotting to remove Jonathan as ridiculous.
He challenged the lawmakers behind the impeachment project to come out in the open to defend it, and also publish the full list of the members of who have signed the document.
“I have never, at anytime, and will never sit, join, participate in any meeting to discuss any move that will work against President Goodluck Jonathan’s lofty transformation agenda, his government or the PDP.
“It is ridiculous and evil for the APC in its unfortunate propaganda to insert names of PDP members, in their ungodly and inept antics to cause crisis in the polity.
“The APC should not delude itself by ascribing to its members what they don’t have. Just like in the past, the PDP remains the majority in the House and at no time did PDP lose majority in the House,” he said.
Meanwhile, some members of the APC in the House of Representatives while distancing themselves last week from the impeachment list against Jonathan in circulation, stated that they would publish the authentic one in due course.
One of such opposition lawmakers, Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf, who expressed surprise that his name was found on the list, stated that it was “ridiculous and evil for APC in its unfortunate propaganda to insert names of PDP members in their ungodly and inept antics to cause crisis in the polity.”
The Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, described the list in circulation as “fake”.
He said in a press statement that Nigerians should disregard the list as it did not emanate from the APC caucus of the House.
He said: “The general public is hereby advised to disregard a fake impeachment list published by some online publicists for obvious sinister intentions.
“None of our APC members in the House of Representatives is party to the fake impeachment list.
“The authentic impeachment list would be published in due course and we urge our constituents across the country to be so guided.”
