Okays VP exercising presidential powers

Ohanaeze, Buhari, Atiku, speak on way out

INCREASING calls by political and civil rights groups for Vice President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to become the country's Acting President in the absence of Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua were rejected yesterday as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja Justice Daniel Abutu ruled otherwise.

But in the same breath, the Chief Judge held that Jonathan can go ahead to exercise the powers of the ailing President Yar'Adua pending the latter's recovery and return to office. Justice Abutu, delivering his ruling on a suit filed by Amobi Nzelu on behalf of another lawyer, Christopher Onwuekwe, said the failure of Yar'Adua to transmit a letter to the National Assembly, informing it of his medical trip to Saudi Arabia and his desire for Jonathan to perform his duties until his return had made it impossible for the latter to emerge as acting President.

Yet, he held that although the Vice President cannot become the Acting President, "he can only carry out the functions of the president in his absence" in line with section 5(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

The Judge held that even before the suit "the Vice President has been carrying out the duties of the president as allowed by the constitution in Section 5 (1) of the 1999 constitution". But the wide-held view after this judgement yesterday was that more questions than answers have arisen. Not a few wrong abound the speed with which the case has been determined while others wonder if it was not an escape route for those seeking to vacate the current impasse.

On the issue of locus standi raised by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice Minister, Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa (SAN) against hearing of the suit, the court held that it was deemed to have been abandoned since he did not argue it in his defendants' written address in response to the plaintiff's originating summons dated the 7th day of January, 2010.

The defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Executive Council of the Federation (FEC).

Speaking with reporters after the Judgment, the AGF said by the court's pronouncement, no other person other than the President can question the Vice President for performing the functions of the president.

Aondoakaa said the court has now cleared the way for the Vice President to sign any bill or any papers which require the president's attention.

Aondoakaa, in his defendants' written address in response to the plaintiff's originating summons dated the 7th day of January, 2010 said that it is mischievous for the plaintiff to claim that President Yar'Adua is temporarily incapable of performing the functions of his office since, according to him, the plaintiff lacked the constitutional capacity and competence to do so.

According to him, "We submit that the only body which may pronounce on the capacity of the president to discharge his functions is the federal executive council as set up in section 144 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria".

Similarly, the AGF said the "plaintiff's affidavit discloses no specific allegation or any infringement or anticipated infringement on his right or a personal injury emanating from the defendant's action." But in the plaintiff's brief of argument filed by Nzelu, he had submitted that in the present circumstances where the president has not written any letter to the Senate and the House of Representatives informing them that his deputy should oversee the affairs of the state pending his return, a convenient way out of the woods would be for the court to make an order empowering Goodluck Jonathan to exercise the powers of Yar'Adua pending his return to office.

In the originating summons, the Plaintiff, Barrister Christopher Onwuekwe had asked the court before the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Daniel Abutu to declare that in the absence of the president following his ill-health and in view of Sections 5 (1) and 148 (1), of the 1999 Constitution, the Vice President can exercise the powers vested in the president in his (president) absence.

The suit which has a 13 paragraph affidavit sworn to by the plaintiff himself, noted that "President Yar'Adua has travelled to Saudi Arabia since the 23rd day of November, 2009 for medical treatment and has not retuned since then.

Against this backdrop, the plaintiff through his lawyer, Barrister Amobi Nzelu specifically asked the court for the following reliefs:

"A declaration that by the combined provisions of sections 5 (1) and 148 (1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the Vice President can exercise the powers vested in the president in the absence of the president having regard to the circumstances of this suit.

"A declaration that the Vice-President can lawfully discharge any or all the functions of the president in the absence of the president in the interest of peace, order and good governance of the federation pending when the president resumes and takes over".

The plaintiff stated that the present scenario is an indication that there is no Head of government and such a situation "has led to major crisis capable of threatening the corporate existence and stability of the Federal Republic of Nigeria".

Following this the plaintiff stated that the Vice President has refused/neglected/failed to exercise any or all the executive powers vested in the president for the president on his absence.

Also, apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday asked the National Assembly to confer the status of Acting President on Jonathan to avoid creating a state of anarchy in the polity.

It further noted that the National Assembly and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were setting a bad precedence by their docility since Yar'Adua took ill, insisting that the paramount interest of Nigeria was greater than that of an individual.

Describing the country as a nation on "stand-still", the organisation noted that the Yar'Adua issue had gone beyond ill-health as the constitution had been roundly breached, and therefore urged the National Assembly to immediately save the nation by invoking the relevant sections of the constitution and the Public Service Rules.

Speaking with reporters in Enugu, the Secretary-General of Ohanaeze, Chief Nduka Eya expressed worry over the situation in the country, which he described as "very terrible", accusing the people he described as "hawks within the corridors of power" of being the masterminds of the current state of uncertainty in the country.

He said: "We claim to be following the footsteps of the United States where we inherited this constitution and democracy, but unfortunately, we do terrible things. When President Bill Clinton went for minor surgery, the nation was informed of everything that transpired. Though, nobody is happy, that Yar'Adua is ill, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't know his state of health. Why do we have the running mate in an election...what's the idea of having a vice...so there will be no vacuum in the absence of the President.

"Conferring the status of the Acting President on Jonathan will not take anything away from Yar'Adua; unfortunately, there are hawks in the polity who are toying with the fate of Nigerians. We were further insulted when a frail voice told us on BBC that he would soon be back without addressing the issue of the Acting President. What Yar'Adua has succeeded in doing is that the rest of the 140 million Nigerians should wait until he comes back before anything happens. We should wait indefinitely until his doctors' discharge him. What a shame."

Decrying the continued quietness of members of the Federal Executive Council on the matter, Eya said that time had come for all well-meaning Nigerians to take a stand against the goings-on in the country. He also berated some members of the FEC, especially the Attorney General and Minister of Justice who had consistently deceived Nigerians on the state of the health of the President.

"These people are simply beneficiaries of a failing system and there is no way they will come out to be fighting against the same system. But what they have failed to know is that when this country finally collapses, God forbid, it will collapse on their heads and there will be no place to hide for them. Some of them will boldly tell us that there is nothing wrong in the president being sick, that he rules from anywhere; that he stay away for eternity, what a shame," he stated.

The Ohanaeze scribe said that President Yar'Adua originally had good intentions for the country upon assumption of office, stressing however, that his ill health had rubbed off on his performance even as he, described his administration as a monumental failure.

Besides, former Head of State, General Mohammadu Buhari, immediate past Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other prominent members of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) were in the Senate yesterday to demand the setting up of a team to be sent to Saud Arabia to ascertain Yar'Adua's state of health.

In a letter titled, "State of the Nation," and submitted personally by Buhari and Atiku to the Senate President David Mark, the group proposed that Government should constitute a team of 15 credible persons as goodwill ambassadors from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia.

According to them, "The team shall comprise of a retired justice of the supreme court as team leader, a member of the Federal Executive Council, the President's personal phyisician and other highly respected and independent medical practitioners no,minated by the Nigeria Medical Association"

Other members of the team according to the NDM leaders should include the Majority and Minority Leaders of both chambers of the National Assembly, a r3epresentative each from the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)"

The group went on: "The team should travel to Saudi Arabia to verify his exact location; meet the President to express the commiseration of Nigerians and their goodwill to him and his family; Advise the President to comply with the provisions of section 144 of the Nigerian Constitution; Meet with his Doctors to obtain clear and detailed information on the exact nature of his illness and the prospects of recovery as is ethically possible as will be politically necessary to satisfy Nigerians.

"At the end of the team's visit, it should compile and submit a report, including recommendations on the implications of the President's condition for the administration and political stability of the nation to the Vice President who should table same as a memorandum for consideration at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council.

"The Vice President should then address the nation on their decision which should include the way out".

The Movement further asked Mark to act swiftly and activate the provisions of sections 144 and 145 to avoid the situation from degenerating.

Responding, Mark said that the National Assembly would be guided by the 1999 constitution in trying to find solution to the situation pointing out that "the Assembly would neither compromise nor subvert the application of the 1999 constitution in the attempt to resolve any political logjamin the country."

He added: "I believe your intent and purpose here is for the interest of Nigerians. We as Legislators are also concerned about the interest of the people. We operate within the ambit of the Constitution and we cannot do anything outside the Constitution."

Others in attendance during the visit to the Senate President's office included the former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, Senator Ben Obi, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Titi Ajanaku, Dapo Sarumi, Funke Adedoyin and Sule Haruna.

Add NOI Polls, Nigeria's premier survey and research agency, has revealed from recent polls conducted that Nigerians are increasingly demanding a decisive resolution to the perceived leadership vacuum that has been created with the absence of Yar' Adua.

According to NOI Polls, which partners the world renowned Gallup Polls USA, 74 per cent of respondents feel that the President's absence will have various dire effects on Nigeria. Out of this group of respondents, 29 per cent of feel that the economy will suffer the most, while 26 per cent believe that Mr. President's absence will cripple public administration, as well as affect national security, implementation of Niger Delta amnesty deal and achievement of the Seven-point agenda. The has now been absent from the country on the grounds of ill health for over 50 days. While the initial public response of goodwill towards the ill President remains, there have been increasing demands for decisive resolution to the perceived leadership vacuum created by his absence.

The reactions of Nigerians may not be unconnected with the slow pace of government activities arising from Yar'Adua's absence and his failure to hand over the reins of government to his duly elected deputy, the Vice President.__In the last couple of days, several groups and the local media have been very vocal in calls for a handover of power to the vice president while the president recuperates.

The Financial Times in an editorial titled "Nigerian Vacum: Yar'Adua Needs to Avert a Constitutional Crisis," stated that "When Umar Abdulmutallab, a well to do Nigerian gone astray, attempted to blow up an airliner over Detroit, Barack Obama, the US President, had no counterpart to engage with. Even before Mr. Yar'Adua was in hospital, the country had been poorly represented on the world stage."_

Ndubuisi Anyanwu CEO of NOI Polls, stated that the research firm "has a survey method that seeks respondents for the snap poll randomly from a database of phone-owning Nigerians aged 15 and above. Several hundreds took part in the telephone interviews. For a sample of this size, we can say with 95 per cent confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3.6 percentage points. The margin of error reflects the influence of data weighting. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls." _

Meanwhile, the PDP yesterday accused Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and other activists who took part in a demonstration against the absence of Yarçdua last Tuesday of insensitivity just as the party said that the opposition cannot set agenda for its government.

Addressing a press conference at the PDP's secretariat in Abuja, its national chairman, Eze Vincent Ogbulafor, said: "It is in this light that we find yesterday's Tuesday's road show by some politicians and some members of the civil society unnecessary, shameful and completely out of tune with the national mood. It is clearly an insensitive display of lack of respect for institutions, our leaders and a debasement of our common humanity. "We are indeed alarmed at the level of desperation manifested by some people in their desire to truncate the nation's democracy. We are at a loss as to why some people for whatever reason would want to contrive an atmosphere of instability and confusion when what is required is a sober reflection and a firm commitment to the national cause.

"As we join hands to serve Nigeria better this year, there is the need to for an extra vigilance on the part of all Nigerians in the face of the onerous challenges that the emerging national circumstances have imposed on us.''

According to him, the health condition of the president has been blown out of proportion hence the rumour of his death. Ogbulafor added that the recent interview granted by the president to the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Hausa Service put paid to all the rumours.

He also defended the choice of BBC for the interview saying that it was the medium that approached him for the interview. He commended the National Assembly for not succumbing to the pressure to get an acting president noting that they lawmakers had demonstrated that they are representing the interest of the people who elected them. Ogbulafor who confirmed that he contacted the president's aides in Saudi Arabia said all that was required at this level was unmitigated patriotism, maturity and restraint. He also said that the aides confirmed that the president was improving and would soon be home.

Ogbulafor said Yar'Adua did not hand over to the vice president because he did not know that his condition would take this dimension.

He said Jonathan ''has been doing well and we have been expressing joy over his performance and there has been no gap because the VP has been filling it. He has proved that he is competent. We believe and pray that the president will return soon.''

He said the opposition cannot set agenda for the PDP government and called on Nigerians to ''ignore their antics.''

Ogbulafor also defended the swearing in of new Chief Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, saying that it was in line with rule of law policy of the federal government.