Federal Attorney General and Justice Minister, Michael Aondoakaa, on Monday wrote to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to function as President, in place of Umaru Yar’Adua, who was flown to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment exactly a month today.

He advised Jonathan in the letter to sign the N353.6 billion 2009 supplementary budget the National Assembly (NASS) passed on November 23, the day Yar’Adua left the country.

Aondoakaa had argued last week that Jonathan and any Minister can act on behalf of Yar’Adua, relying on Section 5 of the Constitution which confers on the President powers to delegate authority. 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was still insisting by last Sunday that there is no succession plan either for Yar’Adua or Jonathan, and it was not known at press time what the party makes of the latest development.

Daily Independent reliably gathered that the letter which was written by Aondoakaa on Monday was delivered to Jonathan the same day.

Aondoakaa predicated his action on the invocation of Section 5 of the Constitution, which he says overrides Section 145 in the event that Yar’Adua did not transmit a formal letter about his absence to the NASS.

However, at the weekend, the House of Representatives accused Aondoakaa of misinterpreting the Constitution by saying that Yar’Adua does not need to communicate to the legislature if he is incapacitated in order to allow Jonathan to function as President. 

But the dust raised about the assumption of office by Aloysius Katsina-Alu as  Chief Justice (CJ) seems to have been resolved with relative ease.

Aondoakaa, in his letter to Jonathan, advised that Katsina-Alu should be given a formal letter acknowledging his confirmation by the Senate, and urging him to mount the saddle on December 31.

He said the Constitution does not require him to be formally sworn in.

He also advised that Justice Ayo Salami should become the President of the Court of Appeal, without a formal swearing in, in place of Justice Umaru Abdullahi, who has retired.

Last Wednesday, the Senate screened and confirmed Katsina-Alu as Idris Kutigi’s successor.

“There is nowhere in the Constitution where it is stated that it is mandatory for the President to perform the swearing in ceremony of the Chief Justice.

“What has been happening is a convention carried over from the military era. It is not Constitutional,” Aondoakaa reportedly argued in the letter.

The Senate had insisted on Sunday that the convention must be followed.

“There is a convention that is adhered to. (Yar’Adua)  administered the oath of office on Kutigi, and we expect that convention to be followed by the same administration. 

“We are not being carried along; we have no idea of what the executive arm of government wants to do concerning Section 5 of the Constitution,” a Senator stated.

Asked why the Senate is on “stand-by,” he replied: “We are on stand-by if (Yar’Adua) decides that he is not able to continue in office and wants to communicate that to the (NASS).

“Whatever decision is to be made would have to be made with the active input of the Senate. That is why we are still in Abuja, on stand-by.

 “If we get that communication that he cannot go on anymore, then we’ll be able to invoke the necessary Sections of the Constitution to that effect.”

But a source in Abuja riposted: “It is not true that the Senators are on stand-by for patriotic reasons.

“They are waiting solely for pecuniary reasons. They are waiting for the supplementary budget to be signed into law so that they can share the money for Christmas.”

Senate Spokesman, Ayogu Eze, had earlier disclosed on Sunday that, despite being on holiday till January 12, the Upper House is on stand-by in case its attention is needed on any urgent national matter. 

Without Presidential assent, government business has ground to a halt in Abuja.

For examples, N200 billion voted for the post-amnesty programme in the Niger Delta is trapped in the supplementary budget, and funds for the capital projects of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) are tied down.

The Senate has denied receipt of any letter on the vacation of Yar’Adua, and the House warned last Friday that it may invoke Section 58 (5) of the Constitution which empowers two-thirds of lawmakers to override his veto on a Bill passed.

The Section stipulates that, “Where the President withholds his assent and the Bill is again passed by each House by two-thirds majority, the Bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.”

But some Senators who did not want to be named said the Upper Chamber is not “aware of any intent to invoke the veto power of the National Assembly on the money Bill. 

“That we have said the Senate is on stand-by is not to come back and invoke Section 58 (5).”

However, Eze reiterated that the Senate does not possess any vacation letter from Yar’Adua.

“If anything happens that requires our coming back from recess, of course, there would be no problem,” he said.

On the status of the supplementary budget against the backdrop of today’s Constitutional deadline, Eze explained: “Well, why don’t you wait for December 23 to come; why don’t you wait for us to get there, because right now, we don’t have a confirmation that he has not signed the Bill.” 

Yar’Adua  is outside the country, but he didn’t transfer power, Eze acknowledged.

 “In effect, he is still the President.”

But there were indications last weekend that in the spirit of Section 5, Jonathan functioning as the President may sign the supplementary budget into law.

However, House members are unhappy with the statement by Aondoakaa that Yar’Adua does not need to communicate to the legislature if he is incapacitated in order to allow Jonathan to act on his behalf. 

Section 145 of the Constitution mandates the President to communicate to the NASS in the event that he is incapacitated to discharge his duties, or he is proceeding on leave. 

House Ethics and Privileges Committee Deputy Chairman, John Kalipa (PDP, Rivers), argued on Sunday that it will be a misinterpretation of the law if Aondoakaa claims that it is not obligatory for Yar’Adua to write the NASS before his Deputy could be empowered to act on his behalf. 

“The Vice President cannot, as it is now, command the Armed Forces or ask the nation to go to war if there is need to do so. 

“He (Jonathan) is not the Commander in Chief, and cannot claim to be. These are some of the limitations he has. The Constitution must be followed to the letter,” insisted Kalipa, a lawyer. 

The acting Chairman of the House Privatisation and Commercialication Committee, Abass Braimah (PDP, Edo), also urged Aondoakaa to allow the Constitution to guide his actions. 

“What does he take us for? They must always put the face of the Constitution in all that they do. Those in government should always protect the law and do the right thing at all times,” he stressed. 

There are certain Constitutional steps to follow, and they must be followed, Braimah added, as regards the Vice President’s duties and actions in the absence of the President.

 “We will not condone any form of illegality, misinterpretation of the law, and any form of flagrant disregard for Constitutionality.”

However, the PDP denied any succession plan either for Yar’Adua or Jonathan, in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Rufai Alkali.

He blamed the opposition for the report, which “is baseless, uninformed, and mischievous as the PDP leadership is not aware of, neither is it involved in, any so called succession plan in whatever form or guise.”

He restated the resolve of the PDP to continue its support for the government led by Yar’Adua and Jonathan.