The All Progressives Congress has
called on the National Assembly to immediately commence the process of
impeaching President Goodluck Jonathan for alleged gross misconduct.
It said in a statement on
Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that
Jonathan’s impeachment would save Nigeria from imminent collapse.
But the Presidency warned the APC and
others, who it said were bent on plunging the nation into political
instability, to be ready for the consequences of treasonable action.
The opposition party, however,
said it made the call with a high sense of responsibility
and strong belief that the impeachment of the President was a
legitimate constitutional option available to the National Assembly not only to
protect the nation’s democracy, but to ensure its unity.
It explained that it
based the call for Jonathan’s impeachment on the dangerous
drifting of the country.
The APC added that there was a total
failure of leadership, insecurity, unprecedented corruption, impunity,
massive unemployment and hunger in the country.
The statement reads in part, ‘’Since
the raison d’etre of any government is the security and welfare of the
citizenry, and the present administration has failed to live up to the
justification of its existence, there can be no other definition of gross misconduct
but that.
“Therefore, the time has come
for the head of that government, on whose desk the buck stops, to be removed
through the provisions stipulated in the 1999 Constitution. This is the
patriotic thing to do.”
The APC warned that if
the National Assembly failed to act very fast, it
would share with the “clueless and feckless” Jonathan
administration, the blame for dashing the hopes of millions
of Nigerians, especially the youth.
The party said it was necessary for
anyone who might say the call for the impeachment of the President
was outlandish to remember that all it would take to torpedo the current
democracy was “for this increasingly-paranoid government to get a pliant judge
to put a judicial stamp on just one of its litany of illegalities.”
The party also wondered
why the PDP could go to court to challenge the defection of five of its
governors.
It recalled that an
attempt by the ruling party to declare the seat of the then Vice-President
Atiku Abubakar vacant was rejected by the Supreme Court, when he defected to
the then Action Congress of Nigeria.
It wondered what could have
been the motive behind the latest action of the PDP.
The APC said, ‘’What then
can be the sole motive behind the PDP’s action? To plunge Nigeria into
chaos? This is why we issued a strong warning in our statement of
December 5 in which we said, ‘We wish to state unequivocally that should
the PDP go ahead with this plan, there will be widespread repercussions as the
APC has resolved that, henceforth, every act of impunity of the PDP and the
Presidency will be met with stiff resistance in the form of a vociferous
telegraphing of people’s power, the likes of which have not been witnessed in
these parts.’
“We reiterate those words today
(Sunday), and make bold to say that not even the revelation by former President
Olusegun Obasanjo that snipers are being trained secretly and that 1,000 people
have been placed on political watch, will deter us from saving this democracy,
which was watered by the sweat and blood of many patriots, long before this
generation of opportunists stormed the political scene.”
The opposition said while
Nigerians were very much aware of the failings of the Jonathan government in
all sectors, it was important to remind them that the
administration had, in particular, not been up to
scratch in fighting corruption.
The party said the government
had also failed to provide jobs for Nigerian youths, even as it daily reels out
phantom figures of economic growth that only serve to keep the so-called Ivy
League-trained officials in charge of the economy on their jobs.
The APC added, “The talk out
there now is that Nigeria has never had it so bad. But the government may not
know because it has distanced itself from the people.
“Therefore, for embracing corruption
so much and providing succour to corrupt public officials, for threatening the
country’s fragile unity through divisive policies and politics, for frittering
away the nation’s resources through unprecedented cronyism and clannishness,
and for a total failure of leadership, this President deserves to be slammed with
the cudgel of impeachment.’’
When contacted, the Chairman,
Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Eyinnaya
Abaribe, said the Senate was not aware of the call for the
President’ s impeachment by the APC
“I can only react to issues and
matters before the Senate that have been concluded. No letter or motion has
been brought before the Senate on the issue,” he said.
But the Presidency, in a statement by
the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben
Abati, dismissed the call as opportunistic, partisan and
ill-motivated.
“The Presidency warns that the APC
and any person who make themselves its willing tools for the breach of
public order and safety will be made to face the full sanctions of the law. Those
who are threatening fire and brimstone should be ready for the consequences of
treasonable action,” it said.
It advised Nigerians to
distinguish between reckless violations of civic duty and the
urgent need to protect the integrity of the nation against those who for
selfish reasons had declared their readiness to stop at nothing.
While describing the call
as reckless and irresponsible, the Presidency warned that the Federal
Government would not standby and let the nation be plunged into unnecessary
political instability.
The statement reads in part, “We have
noted with utter disdain, the reckless and irresponsible call by the APC
on Sunday for the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against
President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Ordinarily, we would not have
dignified Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s latest vituperations in the service of his
paymasters with a response, but we thought it necessary to warn that the
Federal Government will not standby idly and let the nation be plunged into
unnecessary crises and political instability because of the desperation and
apparent readiness of the APC spokesman and his gang of power-seeking
desperadoes to sacrifice the well-being of the country on the altar of their
selfish personal ambitions.
“The Presidency totally condemns the
decision by Alhaji Mohammed and his party to move further beyond the bounds of
honourable and acceptable political conduct with the senseless call for the
impeachment of a President who continues to sincerely devote himself to the
discharge of the sacred mandate freely given to him by Nigerians.
“The APC, which remains a minority
party with doubtful credentials in the National Assembly, knows fully well that
its attempt to hector and blackmail a parliament dominated by loyal members of
the President’s party, the PDP, into an impeachment process, will come to
nothing.
“But it has cavalierly embarked on
this outrageous gambit, with scant regard for peace, order, security and
political stability in the country in furtherance of its dastardly and
heinous strategy of over-heating the polity and working to cause public
disaffection against the Jonathan Presidency with lies, false accusations
and unjustifiable indictments ahead of the 2015 general elections.”
The Presidency said
it considered it deplorable that the APC had in its
Machiavellian desperation recklessly assailed the integrity and honour of
the judiciary.
It added, “We have noted the
undisguised threat by the APC to foster public insurrection against the Federal
Government if pending legal cases go against it.
“We dismiss the APC’s call for the
President’s impeachment as opportunistic, partisan and ill-motivated.”
The PDP also described the call by
the APC as “irresponsible, malicious and self-seeking.”
“The call is part of the plan by the
APC to truncate this democracy and we will not allow it, ” the
PDP spokesperson, Chief Olisa Metuh, said.
He added, “The APC had planned to
cause mayhem during the governorship election in Anambra State, but God did not
allow that to happen.
“Its members want to engineer turmoil
and breakdown of law and order in the country. They know that they
cannot win the 2015 general elections because Nigerians have rejected them.”
Metuh asked Nigerians to be wary of
the activities of the members of the opposition party.
He also called on them to
hold the opposition party responsible for any breakdown of law and
order in the country.
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