Hon. Farouk Adamu Aliyu was a Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, representing Birnin Kudu/Buji Federal Constituency, Jigawa State. He is a strong disciple of General Muhammadu Buhari.
In this interview, Adamu said an endless tenure of Acting President Jonathan Goodluck amounts to a breach of the nation’s self-imposed balancing act that insists a Muslim-Christian or Christian-Muslim ticket in the Presidency. He also spoke on Buhari’s new political party, CPC, among others. Excerpts:
Interpretation of the Constitution

“What we wanted is the strict adherence to the 1999 Constitution. Yar’Adua certainly went against the Constitution by travelling out of the country without properly handing over to his deputy. I went to court, I got judgment against the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) that they should invoke Section 144 of the Constitution. They did not.

“Somewhere along the line, another act of illegality happened. The National Assembly in connivance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Governors’ Forum, that is filled with also PDP members. It arranged the rape on our democracy and the Constitution by forcing, actually by coercing the members of the National Assembly to do a resolution empowering the Vice President to become Acting President.
“On this too, I also went back to court. Even though I was one of the people who wanted a proper handing over, I feel two wrongs never make a right. Don’t forget that we do things for prosperity. If we allow what Yar’Adua did to go free, without being challenged, some day one day, you will have another Yar’Adua who will just hold the entire nation to ransom.

“There is nowhere the Constitution spoke of the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ or the Constitution spoke of the power of the National Assembly to pass a resolution which makes anybody an Acting President. The Constitution in Section 145 is very clear about how an Acting President should emerge. This was like a civilian coup against democracy. This is the source of the present confusion.

“Yes, there is an Acting President. Yes, the tension has gone down throughout the country, but it is through an illegal act. I went to court to do two things. To get a declaration that what Yar’Adua did was unconstitutional, null and void. Two, to get a declaration from the court that Jonathan’s position as Acting President is illegal, null and void.”
“If members of the old Executive Council of the Federation had stood by their oath of office and oath of allegiance. Which means that their allegiance is to the Nigerian people, and not to Yar’Adua, we would not have gotten to this stage. This man was ill, he went out without even them knowing. He left, he didn’t hand over. They sent several emissaries, who could not see him. They should have invoked Section 144. But they did not do it.
“For you to have a democracy that can stand the test of time, follow the Constitution. Have Section 144 been tested? No! It has not been tested. The Executive Council of the Federation refused to invoke that section.”
Jonathan as a sole administrator

“I have always called Dr. Jonathan a sole administrator. To me, we as Nigerians have taken it upon ourselves to create this scenario. I tell you the framers of the Constitution never envisaged an irresponsible Muslim leader or an irresponsible Christian leader. But we have taken upon ourselves to have a Muslim-Christian leadership or a Christian-Muslim leadership.
“Today, a section of this country is being cheated, that is the North and the Muslim. How long will Jonathan be Acting President? Why can’t one of them in the House sponsor a bill to ensure that the Executive Council of the Federation is forced to invoke Section 145? It would have been fair to him. We would have also known the condition of our President. If there is need to remove him, then there would be a nomination of a Muslim, who will pair up with Jonathan.

“I am not speaking on behalf of Muslims or on behalf of the North. I am speaking on behalf of Nigerians and I am speaking as a Nigerian. You do not have to impeach Yar’Adua. Invoke Section 144, and then his handlers would have seen the light clear enough. Either they ask him to resign or he will be kicked out. Either way, the Constitution should be followed. If the Constitution has been followed, I am telling you we would not have been where we are today.
“But the elite connived to put us where we are today. In the first place as a Muslim, Yar’Adua was ill in Saudi Arabia. All Muslims will want to be ill in Saudi Arabia and probably die in Saudi Arabia. Because of power, some people arranged for this man to be smuggled back into the country. If they knew they were bringing him back, not to resume work the following day, why take him out of the hospital in the first place? Which means the man was not healthy enough to rule.

“We have a government that has failed its people. It has no interest of the people at heart, but their own interest. Yahale Ahmed who is Secretary to the Government led five other ministers to Saudi Arabia. They were thoroughly embarrassed. I expected Yahale and Lukman who has been a minister since when I was a child, all of them, they should have resigned the very day they came back based on the action metted to them. But they did not. Why? Because they were not serving Nigeria, they were serving themselves.

“They were humiliated and by extension, Nigeria was humiliated. These are the kind of leaders that we have. Until such a time when we have leaders that are elected by the people. Leaders who are conscious of the people in their hearts. Then the country will continue to go the way it is going today.”
Pro-Babangida and Obasanjo’s men in the corridors of power again? “Well, Obasanjo, Yar’Adua , Jonathan and Babangida, to me, they are all one and the same thing. They are members of the PDP. I do not care who works around Jonathan. I do not care who Jonathan works with. To me, it is all the same. They have led this country for close to 14 years now, or close to 12 years now. It has been failure upon failure upon failure, from Obasanjo to Yar’Adua to Jonathan. Nigerians are feeling what is happening and seeing it. If we do not boot this people out, Nigerians will continue to be in a sorry state.

Playing Buhari’s script
“It is not true. We are in a democracy. The people are entitled to their opinions. What brought about Buhari in the lack of electricity in Nigeria? What brought about Buhari in the decision of Yar’Adua to travel outside the country for more than 100 days without telling anybody? What brought about Buhari with the spate of robberies, with the religious crises, with the banditry in the land, with the stealing, with the corruption everywhere across the country? Nothing!
“We are in opposition. Mind you! They said we did not win election. So, it is our mandate to ensure we check them. We would not allow them to stay in peace as long as they do not make Nigerians to be in peace. It is not about Buhari, it is about Nigeria. Look at you as a journalist, I am sure you did not sleep with electricity in your house, last night.

“Probably when you go out on the road now, you could be mobbed or robbed. This is the kind of things we are talking about. It is not about Buhari, but about the fact that we do not have a purposeful leadership that can ensure peace, security.
“We don’t have a government that will promise something and abide by it. Up till the time that I am speaking to you, nobody has lost his job on account of the promise of Yar’Adua to give us electricity in December last year. This is three months now. Nobody lost his job over the issue of Jos. The cry about the National Security Adviser, it is not about Jos. It is about their power play. You find out that in this country we don’t have leaders that are accountable to us. So, it is not about Buhari but about Nigeria. Simple.”

Buhari’s new party
“It is not Buhari’s party. It is a party for the Nigerian people. It is a party formed, yes, we invited Buhari to join the party. Yes he joined the party. We are going round to mobilize people. We are in opposition. We shall contest the election next year. We will do everything against the PDP. We are one of the political parties in the country. No, it is not Buhari’s party but a party belonging to people who feel that we still do not have a party in this country that will entrench internal democracy in the party structure and also democracy at the national level.”

Mega party
“There is nothing like mega party. There is what we call mega summit movement which we from the Buhari’s stock are members of the mega summit. We are also members of the NDM. We are members of so many alliances. What we are trying to do is to come up with an alliance to confront the PDP in 2011. We are in talks with Kalu of the PPA. We are in talks with Baffarawa of DPP. We are in talks with Atiku and Bola Tinubu of AC. We are in talks with Olu Falae and so many other groups across the country on how we would form the alliance.”



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/apr/05/national-05-04-2010-003.htm

Interesting points raised by the rep

this guy shld shut up pls. Nauseating people like this are the ones who fan the embers of religious violence. Is the presidency now about your religious affiliation or who is right for the nation?

As regards Lukman . . . true, he has been a minister since i was a child too.

[size=13pt]
“What we wanted is the strict adherence to the 1999 Constitution. Yar’Adua certainly went against the Constitution by travelling out of the country without properly handing over to his deputy. I went to court, I got judgment against the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) that they should invoke Section 144 of the Constitution. They did not.


“Somewhere along the line, another act of illegality happened. The National Assembly in connivance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Governors’ Forum, that is filled with also PDP members. It arranged the despoil on our democracy and the Constitution by forcing, actually by coercing the members of the National Assembly to do a resolution empowering the Vice President to become Acting President.


“On this too, I also went back to court. Even though I was one of the people who wanted a proper handing over, I feel two wrongs never make a right. Don’t forget that we do things for prosperity. If we allow what Yar’Adua did to go free, without being challenged, some day one day, you will have another Yar’Adua who will just hold the entire nation to ransom.


“There is nowhere the Constitution spoke of the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ or the Constitution spoke of the power of the National Assembly to pass a resolution which makes anybody an Acting President. The Constitution in Section 145 is very clear about how an Acting President should emerge. This was like a civilian coup against democracy. This is the source of the present confusion.


“Yes, there is an Acting President. Yes, the tension has gone down throughout the country, but it is through an illegal act. I went to court to do two things. To get a declaration that what Yar’Adua did was unconstitutional, null and void. Two, to get a declaration from the court that Jonathan’s position as Acting President is illegal, null and void.”


“If members of the old Executive Council of the Federation had stood by their oath of office and oath of allegiance. Which means that their allegiance is to the Nigerian people, and not to Yar’Adua, we would not have gotten to this stage. This man was ill, he went out without even them knowing. He left, he didn’t hand over. They sent several emissaries, who could not see him. They should have invoked Section 144. But they did not do it.


“For you to have a democracy that can stand the test of time, follow the Constitution. Have Section 144 been tested? No! It has not been tested. The Executive Council of the Federation refused to invoke that section.”

Jonathan as a sole administrator
. . . . ,  . . .

“I am not speaking on behalf of Muslims or on behalf of the North. I am speaking on behalf of Nigerians and I am speaking as a Nigerian. You do not have to impeach Yar’Adua. Invoke Section 144, and then his handlers would have seen the light clear enough. Either they ask him to resign or he will be kicked out. Either way, the Constitution should be followed. If the Constitution has been followed, I am telling you we would not have been where we are today.

“But the elite connived to put us where we are today.  . .

. . . . . . . . .
“They were humiliated and by extension, Nigeria was humiliated. These are the kind of leaders that we have. Until such a time when we have leaders that are elected by the people. Leaders who are conscious of the people in their hearts. Then the country will continue to go the way it is going today.”

Pro-Babangida and Obasanjo’s men in the corridors of power again? “Well, Obasanjo, Yar’Adua , Jonathan and Babangida, to me, they are all one and the same thing. They are members of the PDP. I do not care who works around Jonathan. I do not care who Jonathan works with. To me, it is all the same. They have led this country for close to 14 years now, or close to 12 years now. It has been failure upon failure upon failure, from Obasanjo to Yar’Adua to Jonathan. Nigerians are feeling what is happening and seeing it. If we do not boot this people out, Nigerians will continue to be in a sorry state.
[/size]

This man head CORRECT well well!!

so why dont they make him president and give him a north/muslim candidate.

Must we require all our politicians be at least educated on the constitution and why it ought to be adhered to at all times?? This man head dey kampe, even though I don't buy into his Buhari dreams! I am thoroughly impressed!

This is a product of good reasoning but my pain is that our leaders abi rulers would not listen. They are either too deaf to hear, too blind to see or too daft to use their brains. So, this is another reasonable thought they would choose to ignore.

uc nduka:

This is a product of good reasoning but my pain is that our leaders abi rulers would not listen. They are either too deaf to hear, too blind to see or too daft to use their brains. So, this is another reasonable thought they would choose to ignore.

What about getting the people to Listen, let alone attempt to reason at this level? We have those who will readily condemn the man for simply being a Northerner without even taking time to hear him out. I bet some will not bother reading the post at all but simply go off the topic which does not seem related to the actual post.

davidylan:

this guy shld shut up pls. Nauseating people like this are the ones who fan the embers of religious violence. Is the presidency now about your religious affiliation or who is right for the nation?

As regards Lukman . . . true, he has been a minister since i was a child too.

Mr. davidylan, let be objective in our criticism, even if it is a mad man that talk sense let give it to him. If all our representative reason likes this man; whether fake or genuine, Nigeria will surely be a better place for us all

LFJ:

Mr. davidylan, let be objective in our criticism, even if it is a mad man that talk sense let give it to him. If all our representative reason likes this man; whether fake or genuine, Nigeria will surely be a better place for us all

Right on!

LFJ:

Mr. davidylan, let be objective in our criticism, even if it is a mad man that talk sense let give it to him. If all our representative reason likes this man; whether fake or genuine, Nigeria will surely be a better place for us all

I'm not sure you read the write-up quite well. If all our reps where like this man we'd be in very serious trouble. The presidency isnt about religion but competence!

. . .Today, a section of this country is being cheated, that is the North and the Muslim. . .

Sickening.

I am quite tired of these tribal baboons; "The North this", "the North that", "Muslims this", "Muslims that". It is in the name of this mythical "North" that Nigeria was driven to the edge of the precipice from which we have not fully returned. These goons should shove it!
You can't eat your cake and have it. The Northern powers that be created this situation out of their selfish tribalism and religous bigotry, let them reap the fruit of the seed they have sown. Rubbish.

They can form their own country peacefully or cooperate with the rest of us or lose all.

Beaf:

Sickening.

I am quite tired of these tribal baboons; "The North this", "the North that", "Muslims this", "Muslims that". It is in the name of this mythical "North" that Nigeria was driven to the edge of the precipice from which we have not fully returned. These goons should shove it!
You can't eat your cake and have it. The Northern powers that be created this situation out of their selfish tribalism and religous bigotry, let them reap the fruit of the seed they have sown. Rubbish.

I wonder what others are reading that is making them commend the idiocy in that write-up. The north is being "cheated" because it hasnt been represented in the presidency for 5 months? I'm not sure this man understands what the igbo would be feeling.

davidylan:

I wonder what others are reading that is making them commend the idiocy in that write-up. The north is being "cheated" because it hasnt been represented in the presidency for 5 months? I'm not sure this man understands what the igbo would be feeling.

Don't mind them, the man is a tribalist id!ot.

The man is well INFORMED! If even a quarter of our reps understood the law as much as this man does, we would be moving ahead at light speed and not taking one step forward and 30 steps backwards each and every single year, it seems.

Kobojunkie:

The man is well INFORMED! If even a quarter of our reps understood the law as much as this man does, we would be moving ahead at light speed and not taking one step forward and 30 steps backwards each and every single year, it seems.

What is the man "well informed" about"
What part of the law does he understand?
Where was he when Sharia law was enacted AGAINST the constitution?

Section 145 of the constitution says this - 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.

why then is he claiming that Jonathan in the role of acting president is an illegality?

davidylan:

What is the man "well informed" about"

The laws of the land as it applies to him as a Northerner. Yes, he makes a valid point when he states that the North is being cheated considering it is still the NORTH’s TURN at the presidency, or does rotation no longer apply because Jonathan is up there?

davidylan:

What part of the law does he understand?

Read ALL of his comment and not just the part that you are sensitive about please.

davidylan:

Where was he when Sharia law was enacted AGAINST the constitution?

You would have to ask him that but that does not change the contents of the above article which is what we are going off of right now.

davidylan:

Section 145 of the constitution says this - 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.

why then is he claiming that Jonathan in the role of acting president is an illegality?

Did you INTENTIONALLY skip over the portion of the same section that ties the office of Acting President to the President TRANSMITTING TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE A WRIITTEN DECLARATION?

davidylan:


Section 145 of the constitution says this –  [size=13pt] 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, [/size] until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President

. . . because it is right there in your post.

The decision was not made by the Senate or the the House. These admit never receiving a tranmission from the president to allow this but the Executive council went ahead and did it anyways . . .  by what or whose authority? I am still trying to figure that one out.

davidylan:

. . .
why then is he claiming that Jonathan in the role of acting president is an illegality?

. . .Only because he is a tribal jingoist and religious bigot. An educated almajiri.

Kobojunkie:

The laws of the land as it applies to him as a Northerner. Yes, he makes a valid point when he states that the North is being cheated considering it is still the NORTH’s TURN at the presidency, or does rotation no longer apply because Jonathan is up there?

It wasnt Jonathan's fault that Yar Adua has been incapacitated for 5 months. Jonathan did not seize the presidency by a coup de tat. The constitution clearly states the vice president should take over from an incapacitated president. It did not specify that a northerner must needs be appointed as vice to the acting president to balance out the rotation policy.

Kobojunkie:

Read ALL of his comment and not just the part that you are sensitive about please.

I did. Most of it is nonsensical.

Kobojunkie:

You would have to ask him that but t[b]hat does not change the contents of the above article[/b] which is what we are going off of right now.

it does change the way you think about this mans comments. Is he all of a sudden a defender of the very same constitution he was happy to abuse for sharia law? What is the ulterior motive? You cant disregard the constitution in 2009 and suddenly be defending it in 2010. Something is amiss.

Kobojunkie:

Did you INTENTIONALLY skip over the portion of the same section that ties the office of Acting President to the President TRANSMITTING TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE A WRIITTEN DECLARATION?

. . . because it is right there in your post.

I didnt ignore it . . . where was this rep when Yar Adua was openly flouting section 145 of the constitution? When is the president going to "transmit to the senate a written declaration"? 2011?

I'm sure you and that rep also forgot that the Senate passed an ammendment to Sec 145 of the constitution in Feb 2010 -

1) whenever the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to that effect, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, the Vice President shall perform the functions of the President as Acting President.

(2) In the event that the President is unable or fails to transmit the written declaration mentioned in sub-section 1 of this section within 14 days, the National Assembly shall, by a resolution made by a simple majority of the vote of each House of the National Assembly, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of the office of the President, as Acting President, until the President transmits a letter to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, that he is now available to resume his functions as President."

Did you say this man was "informed"?

davidylan:

I'm not sure you read the write-up quite well. If all our reps where like this man we'd be in very serious trouble. The presidency isnt about religion but competence!

I read it very well. In fact, that was my thinking when I read your comment, that why somebody should condemn this man just because the man said “Today, a section of this country is being cheated, that is the North and the Muslim”. Apart from this statement which may be offensive to you, the man is very constructive in his argument and hit the nail on the head.
As at today, it has not become an offence to demand for your right as a Muslim, a Christian, Ibo or Yoruba since our constitution recognize the diversity in our ethnicity, religion and culture.
@ davidylan, I know u are very active in religion section of this forum; I will advise that you stop looking at all issue from religion or ethnic point of view. Let leave issue of religion to God to decide who is right or wrong since He has the final say.

LFJ:

I read it very well. In fact, that was my thinking when I read your comment, that why somebody should condemn this man just because the man said “Today, a section of this country is being cheated, that is the North and the Muslim”. Apart from this statement which may be offensive to you, the man is very constructive in his argument and hit the nail on the head.
As at today, it has not become an offence to demand for your right as a Muslim, a Christian, Ibo or Yoruba since our constitution recognize the diversity in our ethnicity, religion and culture.
@ davidylan, I know u are very active in religion section of this forum; I will advise that you stop looking at all issue from religion or ethnic point of view. Let leave issue of religion to God to decide who is right or wrong since He has the final say.

Sorry to disappoint you but the above is NONSENSE. Where has this man been championing the rights of the igbo to the presidency? A muslim head of state has been incapacitated (through no other person's fault) and all of a sudden muslims are crying that they are not represented in power? Do you think anyone cares that Jonathan is a christian or hindu?

Does this guy understand section 145 and its latest ammendment? I dont think so.

Obodo999:


Hon. Farouk Adamu Aliyu was a Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, representing Birnin Kudu/Buji Federal Constituency, Jigawa State. He is a strong disciple of General Muhammadu Buhari.
[b]In this interview, Adamu said an endless tenure of Acting President Jonathan Goodluck amounts to a breach of the nation’s self-imposed balancing act [/b]that insists a Muslim-Christian or Christian-Muslim ticket in the Presidency. He also spoke on Buhari’s new political party, CPC, among others. Excerpts:
Interpretation of the Constitution

I thot this was a PDP agreement and not a national issue

davidylan:

It wasnt Jonathan's fault that Yar Adua has been incapacitated for 5 months. Jonathan did not seize the presidency by a coup de tat. The constitution clearly states the vice president should take over from an incapacitated president. It did not specify that a northerner must needs be appointed as vice to the acting president to balance out the rotation policy.

I have yet to blame Jonathan for anything. All I have done is state that his installation as acting president is ILLEGAL/Against the Constitution, later amendments or none.

davidylan:

I did. Most of it is nonsensical.

OK

davidylan:

it does change the way you think about this mans comments. Is he all of a sudden a defender of the very same constitution he was happy to abuse for sharia law? What is the ulterior motive? You cant disregard the constitution in 2009 and suddenly be defending it in 2010. Something is amiss.

I don’t think the man sees himself as a defender of anything. In fact he tells you straight up that the current setting cheats the north whose turn it is supposed to be at the presidency.

davidylan:

I didnt ignore it . . . where was this rep when Yar Adua was openly flouting section 145 of the constitution? When is the president going to "transmit to the senate a written declaration"? 2011?

Are you sure he was not out there speaking but no one was listening? I mean a lot of people spoke out, from way back in December, and still the only voice people heard was the voice on February 4th that sealed the country into yet another year of the same.

davidylan:

I'm sure you and that rep also forgot that the Senate passed an ammendment to Sec 145 of the constitution in Feb 2010 -

1) whenever the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to that effect, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, the Vice President shall perform the functions of the President as Acting President.

(2) In the event that the President is unable or fails to transmit the written declaration mentioned in sub-section 1 of this section within 14 days, the National Assembly shall, by a resolution made by a simple majority of the vote of each House of the National Assembly, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of the office of the President, as Acting President, until the President transmits a letter to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, that he is now available to resume his functions as President."

Did you say this man was "informed"?

Actually, what you are trying to do above is called “BIGTIME Gba jue”, and I know even you would not swallow up the same if you were on the receiving end. The Amendment you have above were made on February 25th/26th I believe. Jonathan was installed as Acting President on February 9th. Unless the house will now move to wipe the memory of all Nigerians and the international media as well, it won't fly and you know it.

Kobojunkie:

I have yet to blame Jonathan for anything. All I have done is state that his installation as acting president is ILLEGAL/Against the Constitution, later amendments or none.

How is it illegal?

Kobojunkie:

I don’t think the man sees himself as a defender of anything. In fact he tells you straight up that the current setting cheats the north whose turn it is supposed to be at the presidency.

For all the noise this man makes about the constitution, rotational presidency is a PDP thing and is unconstitutional (like Fhemmy said).

Kobojunkie:

Actually, what you are trying to do above is called “BIGTIME Gba jue”. The Amendments you have above were made On February 25th/26th I believe. Jonathan was made acting President on February 9th.

So if you demoted Jonathan back to vice president, the ammendments to section 145 would still see him back to the position of vice president as Yar Adua still hasnt transmitted a written message to the senate and its been way over 14 days.

davidylan:

How is it illegal?
For all the noise this man makes about the constitution, rotational presidency is a PDP thing and is unconstitutional (like Fhemmy said).

It is illegal in the sense that those who installed him had no such power in the first place given to them. It is illegal in the sense that the act was itself unconstitutional since yar adua never gave the permission (written) to have that happen. If you remember the fiasco back in December when there were claims of a doctored letter from the president, Yayale, I believe was accused of writing it, and then it turned out it was not true?

Well, Rotational Government is not really unconstitutional, neither are the Sharia courts. If you look in the constitution, you will see that provisions were made for those courts. Just an FYI!
I am WHOLLY against BOTH but it is still the law and needs to be respected.

davidylan:

So if you demoted Jonathan back to vice president, the ammendments to section 145 would still see him back to the position of vice president as Yar Adua still hasnt transmitted a written message to the senate and its been way over 14 days.

Well, I am not certain how it will be handled, but I know that act by the FEC was ILLEGAL. The funny thing is the courts gave the FEC an ultimatum based on section 144 which would have solved all this in the first place. But rather than do that, in ALLEGIANCE to Yar adua, the FEC moved instead to ILLEGALLY install Jonathan as Acting President. Why did it not even want to consider 144? Even when the courts deemed it the best way to go?

Kobo, but Yar Adua himself was in violation of Section 145 and shld have been summarily impeached.

The rotational presidency is unconstitutional, no question about that.

davidylan:

Kobo, but Yar Adua himself was in violation of Section 145 and shld have been summarily impeached.

The rotational presidency is unconstitutional, no question about that.

Two wrongs do not make a right though!! He should have been impeached according to 145 and 144. Why not?

Kobojunkie:

Two wrongs do not make a right though!! He should have been impeached according to 145 and 144. Why not?

Perhaps we can ask our dear Rep then who looked the other way and only started bleating about the legality of Jonathan's position after the fact. Is he not also bothered that the president has refused to notify the senate 5 months after he abdicated office?

davidylan:

Perhaps we can ask our dear Rep then who looked the other way and only started bleating about the legality of Jonathan's position after the fact. Is he not also bothered that the president has refused to notify the senate 5 months after he abdicated office?

Now this is where I know you did not really read the article . . . .

[size=13pt]
“What we wanted is the strict adherence to the 1999 Constitution. Yar’Adua certainly went against the Constitution by travelling out of the country without properly handing over to his deputy. I went to court, I got judgment against the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) that they should invoke Section 144 of the Constitution. They did not.


“Somewhere along the line, another act of illegality happened. The National Assembly in connivance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Governors’ Forum, that is filled with also PDP members. It arranged the despoil on our democracy and the Constitution by forcing, actually by coercing the members of the National Assembly to do a resolution empowering the Vice President to become Acting President.


“On this too, I also went back to court. Even though I was one of the people who wanted a proper handing over, I feel two wrongs never make a right. Don’t forget that we do things for prosperity. If we allow what Yar’Adua did to go free, without being challenged, some day one day, you will have another Yar’Adua who will just hold the entire nation to ransom.


“There is nowhere the Constitution spoke of the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ or the Constitution spoke of the power of the National Assembly to pass a resolution which makes anybody an Acting President. The Constitution in Section 145 is very clear about how an Acting President should emerge. This was like a civilian coup against democracy. This is the source of the present confusion.


“Yes, there is an Acting President. Yes, the tension has gone down throughout the country, but it is through an illegal act. I went to court to do two things. To get a declaration that what Yar’Adua did was unconstitutional, null and void. Two, to get a declaration from the court that Jonathan’s position as Acting President is illegal, null and void.”


“If members of the old Executive Council of the Federation had stood by their oath of office and oath of allegiance. Which means that their allegiance is to the Nigerian people, and not to Yar’Adua, we would not have gotten to this stage. This man was ill, he went out without even them knowing. He left, he didn’t hand over. They sent several emissaries, who could not see him. They should have invoked Section 144. But they did not do it.[/size]

good point Kobo.

davidylan:

Sorry to disappoint you but the above is NONSENSE. Where has this man been championing the rights of the igbo to the presidency? A muslim head of state has been incapacitated (through no other person's fault) and all of a sudden muslims are crying that they are not represented in power? Do you think anyone cares that Jonathan is a christian or hindu?

Does this guy understand section 145 and its latest ammendment? I dont think so.

Thank u very much for the insult; what I said may be NONSENSE to you the same way your argument is not making meaning to me. If you decided to champion the rights of Ibo today, you have not committed any crime based on our constitution; the man has neither committed a crime by feeling that his ethnic or religion has been cheated. My argument with you is not about a Muslim or Christian or about Yoruba or Ibo but about the substance of his discussion. One statement which may be offensive to you does not nullified the valid point the man is trying to make.
Let learn how to tolerate each other without insult. I believe you can argue your point without insult. The relationship here is not “Oga or Omose”

This is for you @Davidlyan

[size=14pt]Yar'Adua - Court Gives FEC Two-Week Ultimatum[/size]
Ahuraka Yusuf Isah
[size=14pt]23 January 2010[/size]
http://allafrica.com/stories/201001250918.html

Abuja — The Judiciary appears to have finally risen to its responsibility, as a Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday ordered the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to pass a resolution within 14 days on whether President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has the capacity to discharge the functions of his office as president.

The 14-day ultimatum is contained in the judgement delivered in a suit filed by a former minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hon. Farouk Aliyu and the chairman of the Jigawa State chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Sani Gabbas, against the attorney general of the federation and the entire Federal Executive Council (FEC) members.

In the judgement delivered by the chief judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Daniel Abutu, the call by the plaintiffs to invoke the provisions of Section 144 of the 1999 Constitution and declare that President Yar'Adua is incapacitated was refused by the Court.

In declining to make the pronouncement that President Yar'Adua is no longer fit and proper to continue to undertake the duties of his office having been away in Saudi Arabia for medical purposes since November 23, 2010, the judge said that the Court has no powers to come to that conclusion merely on affidavit evidence.

On why the Court can not hold that the president is incapacitated, Justice Abutu noted that the only body that could take steps in that direction is the Executive Council of the Federation, even as he noted that the name "Federal Executive Council (FEC) is unknown to the 1999 Constitution".

[size=13pt]The Court also said that the call by some people for the invocation of section 144 of the constitution would not yield any result, since the Federal Executive Council, has not taken a decision regarding pronouncing the president incapable of discharging his official duties.

The Court also said that "FEC is not mentioned in Section 144 of the constitution and that the only body charged with the responsibility of declaring the president incapable is the Executive Council of the Federation".[/size]


Justice Abutu said that when the Executive Council of the Federation meets to consider the health status of the president and takes decision to that effect, the resolution would be transmitted to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives, which bodies would then set up a medical panel of five persons, including the personal physician to President Yar'Adua, who would examine him.

The work of the panel, the court stated would be to make an inquiry into the health condition of the president regarding both the state of his "body and mind" and such findings would be published in the government's official gazette.

[size=13pt][b]It went further to clarify that the date the official gazette is published would mark the very date the president would cease to function as president, just as he noted that same is applicable to the vice president.

He clarified his earlier pronouncements about the vice president saying: "Vice President Goodluck Jonathan has in the absence of the president been performing the functions of the president".

Under this condition, he declared that Vice President Jonathan "cannot be seen to be guilty of any constitutional breach and that there was evidence that he chaired the FEC meeting on December 2, 2009 in the absence of the president".

Responding to the judgement, the AGF who argued the case himself noted that "we will study the judgement to determine whether or not to go to appeal".

The AGF also said that only the Federal Executive Council (FEC) can decide if the president is capable or incapable of discharging his responsibilities.

Besides, he said that even if there is an appeal, the judgement stands, because it cannot act against a stay of execution.** [/b][/size]

[size=13pt]On the other hand, counsel to the plaintiffs, Barrister Bamidele Aturu while reacting to the judgement, said that it has helped to expand the frontiers of the law at least to know that Federal Executive Council as a name is illegal.

Additionally, he said that FEC should not think that they would arrange for a medical doctor of their choice and give Yar'Adua a clean bill of health, noting further that if such arrangement is done by the FEC to deceive Nigerians, he would go to court to challenge it[/size].

, Another Meaningless Judgement-Keyamo

Barrister Festus Keyamo has described the ruling of the Federal High Court delivered today by the Honourable Justice Abutu as yet another meaningless ruling that would not make any difference.

According to Keyamo, the provisions of section 144 of the 1999 Constitution only compel the Executive Council of the Federation to declare the president unfit through two-thirds of the FEC.

"It is clear that there can be no medical examination of the president and there can be no report of such medical examination of the president to the Senate or the speaker of the House of Representatives, unless there is first a resolution backed by two-thirds of the ministers, declaring the president medically unfit to continue. It is absurd that the medical examination does not come first before the resolution. So on what basis will the ministers pass their resolution? It simply means politics will take precedence over correct medical opinion. And this is another fatal flaw in our 1999 Constitution.


"But the biggest blow to the provisions of section 144 is that it would amount to political suicide or hara-kiri for the ministers who are appointed by Yar'Adua to now vote to remove him from office, which may also sound the death knell for their political future. They will never do that. Anyone expecting anything positive to come out of this ruling should have second thoughts.

"Once again, we are confronted with a meaningless ruling that can only truncate our hopes and prolong our suffering, whilst the nation continues to drift without a captain.

"The only way forward is for the National Assembly to exercise its powers under section 143 of the 1999 Constitution to impeach the president for the gross misconduct of not informing them he was proceeding on leave of absence, and for failing to comply with the constitution by handing over to the vice president, whilst proceeding on leave of absence, Keyamo said.

Apparently, the guy has been in the picture from the start . . .  He is partly the reason for "Dora, the explorer"'s MEMO which essentially worked to galvanize the FEC to retaining their Oga's post before it is too late. Only, he probably could not get Nigerians to listen to him maybe 

a) He is not from the "RIGHT" tribal group or region of the country to be taken seriously

b) He does not have crocodile tears to shed and eyelashes to bat when he is calling for impeachment  . . .  lol

c) Maybe he is just not the type for many to consider hero material .  . . lol

who knows . . .  lol

Lo and Behold, we are here today doing exactly what he wanted done more than 3 months ago. I wait for someone to come in to tell me this man was a member of the so-called OJUJU-CALABAR aka Cabal in Nigeria. ROFLMAO!!

** AGF probably didn't know that the Constitution does not agree with his claims there.