President Muhammadu Buhari has temporarily relocated the Presidency to the United Kingdom where he signed the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract (PSC) Amendment Bill into law yesterday.
Buhari, who left Saudi Arabia on Saturday where he spent five days on an official trip, moved to the UK for a private visit which the presidency said will last till November 17.
Daily Trust reports that while in London, Buhari yesterday announced through a post on his official Twitter handle, @MBuhari the signing of the amendment to the Deep Offshore Act.
This has led to a back and forth debate on whether Buhari should have transmitted power to his Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo to act in his absence. Here are some of the things Osinbajo did in the past when he was acting as president.
Daily Trust reports that it was while the vice president was acting president that he transmitted a letter to the National Assembly seeking the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on July 14, 2016.
The Senate under the leadership of Senator Bukola Saraki, however, rejected Magu after many months of politicking.
Also, Daily Trust recalls that it was while Osinbajo was acting president in February 2017 that a letter seeking the confirmation of then acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen, was transmitted to the Senate.
Similarly, while acting as president, Osinbajo in August 2018 sacked the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Lawal Daura, one of the most powerful kitchen cabinet members of the administration, following the invasion of the National Assembly by operatives of the service.
Sources at the villa claimed that the sacking of Daura angered the people around the president, hence the decision never to hand over to him again to serve as acting president
Also, Osinbajo’s order that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the police be disbanded and overhauled while he was acting as president improved his popularity with many Nigerians especially those who had had nasty experiences in the hands of the operatives.
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