Posted by From Josephine Lohor and Ahamefula Ogbu in Abuja on
President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday urged Nigerians to remain calm and not be unduly worried by the threat by some members of the House of Representatives to impeach him. He said he has done nothing wrong to warrant impeachment.
House members signatures now 161
President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday urged Nigerians to remain calm and not be unduly worried by the threat by some members of the House of Representatives to impeach him. He said he has done nothing wrong to warrant impeachment.
But the group which is canvassing commencement of impeachment process against Obasanjo yesterday claimed they now have 161 members who have signed to endorse the move to impeach the President.
The President, who spoke on the issue through his Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said Nigerians should "remain calm and not be unduly alarmed by the actions and allegations of these few members of the House, who are in the main, members of the opposition parties."
He noted that "the details of these so-called offences have not, up until now, been made public by those that are asserting them. Despite these allegations, we wish to assure the Nigerian people that there is no basis for such a course of action and that such an initiative does not enjoy the support of the overwhelming number of members, or indeed the leadership, of the Federal House."
"It is important to note the fact that Mr. President has done absolutely nothing wrong or unconstitutional and he will not be distracted from carrying out his lawful and constitutional duties by such misguided initiatives or actions," he added.
Fani-Kayode, who described the pro-impeachment legislators as "a relatively small number of members of the Federal House of Representatives," assured that the Executive would continue to deliver the dividends of democracy.
He said "Mr. President will continue to work closely with and reach out to members of the National Assembly and its leadership and we wish to take this opportunity to reiterate our confidence in the overwhelming majority of members of both the Federal House and the Senate and acknowledge the fact that it is our collective and mutual desire to continue to work closely together with them in order to bring the dividends of democracy to the Nigerian people."
However, Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa said yesterday that the differences between the Executive and the legislature must be resolved through dialogue.
According to her, the differences do not warrant impeachment 'I do not think this problem is so serious that a strong word as impeachment should be easily used.
'This is because impeachment is a very serious matter that it is not proper for that word to be bandied anytime there are differences."
She therefore urged Nigerians irrespective of their political differences to join efforts in managing the country's fragile democracy.
'Whether you are ANPP, PDP, Executive or Legislature, all of us have to manage this fragile democracy," she said.
The pro-impeachment group stated that it has compiled 15-count impeachable offences against the President, which is expected to be made public today either on the floor of the House or through a motion.
Though sponsors of the impeachable offences are warming up to table it on the floor of the House today, sources close to the leadership of the House however said the issue will not be accommodated until possibly a later date.
THISDAY reliably gathered that there were moves by the leadership of the House to douse the tension generated by the impeachment plot.
Arrow head of the plot Hon Bashir Nadabo was allegedly invited by Speaker Aminu Bello Masari to his office where he was asked to back down on the plot.
"I have just spoken with the leadership but I will not give you the details. A decision will be taken soon. We already have enough number to commence the impeachment process", Nadabo said.
When contacted on moves by the leadership to stop the impeachment, Media and Publicity Committee Chairman of the House, Abike Dabiri said, "The leadership is talking to members on the need to handle the matter in a mature manner, we should not be emotional about it for the sake of the country and democracy. I can assure you that over 20 members signed because of Fani-Kayode's statement".
She said it was Fani-Kayode who should be referred to as infantile nonsense, adding that he has not shown the maturity needed to man the office he was given by the President.
"Fani-Kayode is a disgrace to our generation because of the way he conducts himself. We wonder what are his antecedents for him to even have been a Special Assistant to the President. What are his antecedents? Before you talk for someone, you should be able to talk for yourself.
"If you have to manage someone's image, you must have an image yourself. I think his mother should take him home and whip him. And tell you something, here in the parliament, the leadership is trying everything to ensure peace with maturity while Fani-Kayode is busy heating up the polity. If the President wants peace in this country, he should do away with the likes of Fani-Kayode", she said.
Reacting to the statement credited to Fani-Kayode, Nadabo said, "Fani-Kayode said our move is infantile nonsense but we shall see. We are going to show him and his boss Obasanjo. They are going to pay for the misrule and suffering they have subjected the country to. Impeachment is the mood of the moment and we will succeed. I started yesterday and got 100 signatures but it is now over 160."
He said the signatories cut across party line and that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members were also concerned that the president was on a mission to derail the democratic process and have been lending their support to the impeachment move.
Facilitator of the Forum for Democracy and Good Governance", Hon Usman Bugaje when asked to comment said, "What do you want me to say? Nadabo is speaking for us and that is the mood of the moment".
Hon Gabriel Arigbe Osula accused Obasanjo of running the country like his Ota farm. "In fact he is doing worse than he would have been doing in Ota farm and we have to call him to order. To blackmail us that we are trying to terminate the nascent democracy is nonsensical and unacceptable to us," he said.
The House threatened Obasanjo with impeachment last week following what members described as the President's contempt for the National Assembly.