A former senator, Shehu Sani, urged opposition lawmakers to focus on the 2023 general election rather than waste energy trying to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari.
Sani said that while he is willing to impeach the president for the worsening security situation, the complex nature of impeachment as provided for in the 1999 constitution makes it “technically impossible” to accomplish before the 2023 election.
This was stated by the former deputy on Wednesday during a PREMIUM TIMES forum on Twitter Space.
A banner for PREMIUM TIMES Twitter Spaces about insecurity and whether the president should be impeached.
The session, titled ‘Insecurity: Should President Muhammadu Buhari be Impeached’, was also attended by the founder of Enough is enough (EiE)Yemi Adamolekun, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Publicity Director Chinwe Nnorom, and some 3,327 participants.
impeachment threat
Last week, the minority group in the National Assembly resolved to give Buhari six weeks to address the general insecurity in the country or risk being impeached.
The turmoil began in the Red Chamber when some opposition senators staged a plenary walkout after Senate President Ahmad Lawan blocked a motion on insecurity and a call for a notice of impeachment of the president.
Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan [PHOTO CREDIT: @NgrSenate]The PDP caucus in the House also joined the six-week ultimatum after a meeting of the PDP caucus in the National Assembly.
The PPD is the biggest opposition in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Although the presidency described the impeachment threat as childish antics by the opposition, some ruling APC senators have backed the impeachment move. Elisha Abbo (APC, Adamawa) and Adamu Bulkachuwa (APC, Bauchi) publicly endorsed the impeachment move.
The impeachment movement is comical
Sani, who was in the 8th Senate, said the main opposition party should focus on winning the general election instead of dissipating energy on the impeachment trial that has the potential to drag on until February 2023, when the elections will take place. elections.
“At a time like this, what should be more important is how to dislodge the current political party. Anything else can be a serious distraction,” said Sani, a former DPP gubernatorial hopeful in Kaduna.
The National President of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu.
“The president (Iyorcha Ayu) of the PDP was also president of the Senate. He knows the details and the issues of the National Assembly. I think the party should be concerned with the strategy of how to win the election.
“Dissipating energy on the impeachment issue may even affect the next election. If it’s easier, I think the president should be impeached today, and if not there would be consequences. If you go into the details, it would take months and with leadership like Senate President Ahmad Lawan and House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila who are already in sync with the government, it will be a waste of energy.”
The Kaduna politician said his position is based on his experience as a senator.
“In a period like this in the National Assembly, when the entire mandate of the administration is coming to an end, and they have already proceeded to the annual recess, when they come back, there will never be a full quorum in the National Assembly. ,” he said.
National Assembly
“Many seats will be empty until the end of the year because senators and representatives will have to return to their constituencies, fighting for their political lives.”
Sani said he believes the threat of impeachment “is more symbolic to send a message to the president that he has failed and that the National Assembly is standing up to him.”
“The important thing is that they continually summon the heads of service and ask for their removal. That is within the purview of the president.
“But it might have been a good thing if the president was impeached. As someone who has been inside the system, I know it’s technically impossible,” he said.
Opposition legislators make up less than half the population of each of the two chambers of the National Assembly. At least two-thirds of lawmakers must support any impeachment of the president, meaning opposition lawmakers will need to convince about half of APC lawmakers to impeach the president. This, many analysts have said, makes impeaching the president almost impossible.
When asked about the impact of insecurity on the elections, Mr. Sani said that the INEC will still have to develop means for people to vote, even in the troubled areas of the country such as Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara.
“Once the process of eviction of the president begins, all other issues take a backseat and this can go on until December, January and even during the elections. The question is, can we cope with the heat, the crisis, the turbulence and the storm for the next 4-5 months? Or do we handle the situation this way until we can get the government and the party out during the elections for a new government to come in? I have lost hope and confidence that this government can address the insecurity in Nigeria.”
Ms. Adamolekun, founder of EiE, opposed Mr. Sani’s position on handling the situation until after the 2023 general election. Although she stated that lawmakers have shown a lack of seriousness in the impeachment process, he stated that in an ideal society, impeachment is the best means of threatening a lame president who is not facing re-election.
He pointed out that citizens should lead peaceful protests to demand that their legislators do what is necessary.
“I don’t agree that we get by until we get to the elections. You can no longer manage the people who die and the state of the economy. It’s not something you can handle,” she said.
He said he doesn’t think the opposition lawmakers who issued the impeachment threat take him seriously.
“You still go on vacation for seven weeks and you gave the president six weeks. That is, if he doesn’t resolve it within six weeks while we’re on vacation, we’ll decide to send him a five-month notice in an election year. It does not make any sense. The fact that they framed it that way shows the degree of seriousness. There is no political will.”
Also speaking about the planned impeachment trial, Ms. Nnorom, the PDP official, said that there are several reasons why lawmakers should impeach the president.
President Muhammadu Buhari
He said that while the PDP is not pushing the impeachment threat, he believes opposition lawmakers should go ahead with their threat.
Better late than never, he said when asked if the impeachment threat isn’t coming too late in the administration.