Posted by By Lucky Nwankwere, Abuja on
The face off between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar took yet another dimension Wednesday as ministers protested the presence of the latter at the Federal Executive Council meeting. They even threatened a walk out.
The face off between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar took yet another dimension Wednesday as ministers protested the presence of the latter at the Federal Executive Council meeting. They even threatened a walk out.
Both principals were at the meeting as about five ministers took turns to question the desirability of Atiku continuing to attend the forum when he had dragged the members to court over the Administrative panel's report which indicted him of corruption.
A reliable source said the protesting ministers based their arguments on moral, legal and constitutional reasons and that it took the intervention of the president who promised to look into the matter, to get the Vice-President a reprieve and for the meeting to continue.
The source said Atiku did not defend himself just as no minister spoke up for him. He, however, remained till the end of the meeting.
Some of the ministers challenged Atiku's presence, saying that it was not constitutionally right for the same man who was indicted by the administrative report, which was accepted by the FEC, and forwarded to the National Assembly by the President, to sit together at meetings with other cabinet members.
According to the minister, "the question is whether we as Council members are obliged to continue to sit with him? Is it constitutionally mandatory for us to continue to sit with him in Council?"
On the legal front, he pointed out that "the indicted person who still insists on sitting with us despite his indictment by Council has actually taken to court the five members of the panel who are members of the Council.
"The question is whether it is legally mandatory for us to continue to sit with him in Council after he has taken this course of action against the FEC and the Administrative panel?
Besides, the question is whether we as Council members are morally bound to continue to sit with him even if he insists on sitting with us? Is it morally right for us to continue to sit with an individual who has been indicted by this very Council?
"If he insists on sitting with us despite such indictment, does it mean we must continue to sit with him?