Leader of Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum (AYCF), Middle Belt Forum (MBF) and other concerned citizens have described President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision not to transmit power to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo prior to his departure to London, United Kingdom, for medical check-up, as illegal and unconstitutional.
Clark, who addressed a press conference in Abuja, yesterday, accused the President of taking Nigerians for granted and ignoring Section 145 of the constitution which mandated him to handover to his vice whenever he is out of the country, especially on medical grounds.
The elder statement further accused the President of importing a foreign body into the nation’s constitution by insisting he can only transmit power if he is going to be out of the country for more 21 days.
Clark asked the President what he was afraid of in handing over to his vice who had proved his competence while acting as President in 2017, when Buhari was out of the country for over 100 days.
Buhari in 2019 said he would not transmit power to Vice President Osinbajo when he travelled to the UK on a private visit from April 25 to May 5, 2019 because there was no constitutional requirement for him to do so.
The President said the only time he needed to hand over to his deputy was when proceeding on leave or would be out of the country for more than 21 days.
Clark, however, countered the President’s position saying he acted in clear breach of the constitution.
“The Constitution Section 145 is very clear, simple. There is no issue of 21 days and the president cannot import into the constitution what is not there. What Section 145 says, is that president shall transmit to the National Assembly, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, whenever he will be away on medical vacation. And in his absence, the constitution empowers the Vice President to act as the president. And the word shall is used there. Where does Mr. President get that one from? That one does not exist, except that’s another constitution; I am a lawyer.”
Clark flayed the situation where the president would be undergoing medical treatment abroad and rather than transmit power to his vice who remains in Abuja, files would be flown to him abroad at exorbitant cost to attend to.
“The nation is bleeding financially, yet the government of the day, undertakes wasteful ventures. We understand that files are taken to Mr. President abroad whenever he is away for him to append his signature. This is spending money and other resources recklessly. Not to talk about, the cost of parking the Presidential jet outside the country, with the number of personnel and security details who accompany Mr. President on these trips. These are avoidable expenses. And must be stopped,” he said.
National President of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum (AYCF), Yerima Shettima, said the president should be reminded incase he had forgotten that he needed to have handed over to his deputy before leaving the country.
“It is expected that he should transmit power to the vice president. I am not sure how long he is going to stay outside but even if it is going to be one week, he ought to have transmitted power to the vice president because somebody must act in his absence,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, President, Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Pogu Bitrus, accused the president of having flouted the constitution in that regard a couple of times and lamented that the National Assembly had not been living up to its constitutional responsibilities.
“Our constitution says that he should transmit power to the vice president and if he hasn’t then, we don’t know who is in charge. Somebody who has not done things according to the constitutional provisions is supposed to be queried by the National Assembly; unfortunately we don’t have a National Assembly that has the balls to do that.”
Rights activist, Malachy Ugwummadu, said President Buhari would go down in history as one who visited abroad for medical attention, while the medical facilities and infrastructure in the country he superintended were lying comatose.
SUN NEWS
