The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus in the House of Representatives has called on Nigerians to compel their representatives in the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against President Muhammadu Buhari.
Leader of the caucus, Rep. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), in a statement on Sunday, said Buhari should be impeached for gross incompetence and his continued breach of Section 14(2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution.
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The PDP caucus wants members of the Federal Executive Council to invoke the provisions of Section 144 (1) of the Constitution by declaring the President incapable of discharging the functions of the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to the caucus, the section provides, “The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office, if – by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority if all the members of the executive council of the Federation, it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office.”
The lawmakers said, “Nigerians are daily and defencelessly killed by terrorists and bandits, while the economy is being freely bled by public officers.”
The caucus stated that the reactions of the presidency and the military to killings of farmers in Zambarmari in Jere Local Government Area of Borno State, highlight, “crassness and lame-duck attitude that has for the past five years come to define the Buhari presidency.”
The PDP caucus noted that the body language of the government was worrisome as it emboldens terrorists in the country.
It regretted that, “Northern Nigeria has long become the vortex of massacres. From Buni Yadi, Gamboru, Baga, Gwoza, Shiroro, Konduga, Kawuri, Southern Kaduna to Benue and certainly everywhere else in Nigeria, lives are being snatched by insurgents, bandits and kidnappers who have no respect for the sanctity of life.
“While President Buhari idles in the typical fashion of Emperor Nero as our country burns, questions must be asked about his capacity to lead at a time that our country desires robust and responsible leadership that can pull it from the brink and rescue it from the insurgents, terrorists, bandits and kidnappers.
“President Buhari is unwilling to provide leadership to our fast collapsing country. Rather than take the proverbial bull by the horn, President Buhari ensconces himself in Aso Rock, typical of a mourner-in-chief, and issues press statements that make no meaning to a grieving nation.
“We call on Nigerians across tribe, religion and political party to wake up their National Assembly members and compel them to commence the impeachment process against President Buhari to save Nigeria,” it said.
It’s baseless – Doguwa
Contacted, Majority Leader of the House, Alhassan Doguwa, described as baseless the call for the president’s impeachment.
“It’s baseless and unpatriotic of the PDP Caucus to call for the impeachment of Mr. President at this critical period of our democratic journey. After all, the unfortunate security situation we now found ourselves was the result of the PDP 16 years misrule in Nigeria.
“Our scheduled engagements with Mr. President would definitely provide unprecedented solutions to these precarious situation. The APC government in conjunction with the leadership of the National Assembly are genuinely committed to fighting insecurity in Nigeria. And we shall by God’s grace bring the nefarious activities of insurgents to a complete end,” Doguwa said in a phone interview.
Don’t blame Buhari for escalating insurgency – Badaru
But the Jigawa State Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar has said that President Buhari should not be blamed for the escalating insurgency in the country, urging Nigerians to instead pray for the president.
The governor, while speaking at the commissioning of the 42.5 kilometre Balangu-Auno road, said the president has done more to contain the Boko Haram insurgency, adding that those accusing the president of inaction were not being fair to him.
The governor’s remark is coming against the backdrop of the mounting calls on the president to resign for allegedly failing to curb the insurgency in the North-East as well as armed banditry and kidnapping in some parts of the country.
Though the governor admitted that the country was going through its worst insurgency, he wants those blaming Buhari for the insurgency to rather think twice, saying no leader would want to see those he is superintending being killed.
Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu, who commissioned the road, described Badaru as a pacesetter in the judicious use of resources for the betterment of the people, noting that with the commissioning of the road, economic activities would be boosted.
