The Senate yesterday rose strongly to commence the enforcement of the Constitution of the Federation by passing a resolution, urging ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to formally notify the National Assembly of his medical vacation in accordance with the provision of section 145 of the 1999 constitution.
The resolution was adopted after a stormy three-hour executive (closed-door) session after two days of intense deliberation amid high stake politicking over the health condition and absence of the ailing President. Tuesday’s closed-door session on the same topic lasted five hours.
In the unanimous resolution, the Senate equally directed its Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution to propose an amendment to section 145 of the 1999 Constitution to resolve the flaws and ambiguities exposed by the present circumstance occasioned by the ill-health of the President.
The Upper Chamber, according to sources, did not just stop at making the request but went a step further by giving the President a 14-day ultimatum within which to send his notification or else the lawmakers would have no choice than to commence impeachment procedure against him by invoking sections 143 and 144 of the constitution. Senate spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze (Enugu North) who briefed newsmen after yesterday’s sitting, however, denied that the President was given an ultimatum, apparently in line with the decision of the senators at their executive session to play down the ultimatum.
According to Eze, a political solution was applied to the power problem hence there was no need for an ultimatum for Mr. President. But despite such denial, Daily Sun sources hinted authoritatively that a 14-day time frame was given to Yar’Adua to formally communicate the National Assembly to enable Vice President Goodluck Jonathan receive the mandate of the Assembly to act as President.
Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution states inter alia; “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.”
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Yayale Ahmed was said to have told the senators when he briefed them last week that President Yar’Adua actually wrote a letter, which he addressed to the National Assembly in compliance with the provisions of the constitution before leaving the country. The SGF, according a senator who confided in Daily Sun, revealed how Yar’Adua directed him to draft the letter which he did and forwarded to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Michael Aondoakaa for vetting.
The Head of Service further revealed that a clean copy of the letter was later handed over to the Presidential Liaison Officer at the National Assembly, Senator Abba Aji for onward delivery to the two legislative chambers through their leaderships. The transmission of the letter as stated would enable the National Assembly to empower the Vice President to act in the absence of the President as provided in section 145 of the constitution.
The Senate resolution, however, fell short of the expectation of the members of the National Interest Group (NIG) that is being coordinated by Senators Bala Mohammed (ANPP Bauchi) and Smark Adeyemi (PDP Kogi West) as Chairman and Secretary respectively who had canvassed for the Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to act as Acting President.
Daily Sun gathered that but for the intervention of the President of the Senate David Mark who passionately appealed to senators to tread softly on the matter so as not to worsen the condition of the ailing President in addition to the argument by some other senators that since the Senate had not before now issued a notice to the president on the matter, he should be given time to respond to the resolution of the senate.|
However, the pattern of debate at yesterday’s closed door session also revealed a shift of position within the rank of the senate leadership. While the Senate President, David Mark stuck to his hard-line position by maintaining things were okay based on the status quo, some other principal officers saw enough reasons to break ranks with him as they spoke in favour of the activation of section 145 of the Constitution. A senator who spoke with Daily Sun yesterday on condition of anonymity described yesterday’s resolution as a victory for the pro-democracy bloc in the upper chamber especially the NIG members. “The Senate by this resolution is only following due process before the wielding of the big hammer if necessary.”
This was as it was gathered that the ailing president might be flown into the country on or before this weekend as a way of beating the senators to their game of ensuring that Vice President Jonathan is made president in acting capacity. It was, however, learnt that the Pro-Jonathan senators whose figure increased to about 80 on the floor of the Senate yesterday are aware of the development thus mapping out new strategy towards ensuring that the ailing president steps down and allow his deputy to act in his absence.
A member of the National Interest Group, told Daily Sun in confidence that one of the strategies would be that if the President is brought back into the country with the aid of life support equipment so as to evade his handing over to Dr. Jonathan, the Senate would move to get the president to appear before it and address the legislators for a thank-you visit as a way to puncture the move of the pro-Yar’Adua group.
One of the arrowheads of the NIG Senators told Daily Sun that as far as they are concerned, President Yar’Adua is sitting on a time bomb as if he refuses to send the letter to the National Assembly as directed by the Senate, the Federal Legislature would be forced to consider Section 143 of the Constitution which deals with impeachment based on gross misconduct.
In the same vein, former governors now turned Senators that supported the Pro-Jonathan group included Bukar Abba, Kabiru Gaya, Isiaka Adeleke and former military administrator, Mohammed Mana, while former governor Ahmed Makarfi (PDP Kaduna), Kamarudeen Adedibu (PDP Oyo), Jacob Mustapha (PDP Ogun) Gbemi Saraki (PDP Kwara) Gregory Ngaji (PDP Cross River) Kaka Yale (ANPP Borno), and Hassan Gusau were said to have refused to make contribution on the matter.
Briefing journalists at the end of the Senate closed-door session, Chairman of Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze said Senators decided to speak like statesmen even in the face of certain limitations in the constitution. According to Senator Eze; “We embody the mandate of the people of Nigeria and we try to reflect their aspirations and their desires in whatever we do and that is what has guided the decisions we took today.”
Meanwhile, the pro-constitution movement in the National Assembly, which has been concentrated more in the Senate has spread to the House of Representatives as a sister group of the NIG met on Tuesday night at Rockview Hotel and has started collection of signatures of members of the Lower House. About 40 members of the House were said to have attended the meeting where far-reaching discussions were held and the action plan worked out towards winning more lawmakers to the fold.
From NOSIKE OGBUENYI and AMOS DUNIA, Abuja
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