The National Working Committee (NWC)of the Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), has raised alarm that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Adams Oshiomhole has perfected plans to distort the Nigerian Constitution to illegally impeach the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, when the lawmakers reconvene on Tuesday, August 14.
A statement entitled “They Are At It Again” issued on Sunday by the National Publicity Secretary of the R-APC, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said that the APC leadership is hell-bent on giving nebulous interpretation to the provision of the 1999 constitution (as amended) by using the numbers of Senators present to provoke an impeachment.
“To this end, they have called on all APC Senators to make it a point of duty to participate at the plenary on Tuesday to pass a vote of “no confidence” on the Senate President. This will be followed by orchestrated rancourous plenary session from where impeachment motion would be raised and their illegality perpetrated.
“There have been two meetings of the leaders and the Senators in the last 48 hours to perfect this approach. The security agencies have also been briefed according to information reaching us. The APC factional chairman has been boasting and insisting that the Senate President would be impeached by whatever means because he no longer deserves to wear the “crown”.
“It is possible that the leadership of the factional APC now sees the National Assembly as a Palace, where crowns and beads are the instruments of authority. Needless to remind them that the National Assembly is an arm of government represented by elected persons who are vested with the responsibility of making laws for the good governance of the country. It is neither a kingdom of princes and princesses, nor is it a sanctuary for traditional doctrinaire where crowns and beads are used to impose monarchical authority,” the statement said.
The R-APC also condemned the blatant use of cash-for-votes which it said the APC has introduced into Nigeria’s electoral process adding that the just concluded by-elections in Katsina, Bauchi and Kogi states are testimonies to this fact. It said that this is a sad commentary for a government that preaches anti-corruption as its cardinal philosophy of governance, stressing that the desperation to win at all cost and the killings associated with the elections are bad signals towards 2019 general elections.
The R-APC therefore called on the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, to sack the current Inspector General of Police who, it alleged has shown a manifest incompetence in the discharge of his responsibilities.
“For example, how can an interim report of the Police on the Lawan Daura saga litter the pages of social media platforms when the investigation remains yet inconclusive? How can the Police exonerate itself from the act when it was reported that a Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Habila was seen in a meeting with Senators at the Aso Drive private office of the factional chairman of APC Comrade Adams Oshiomhole? What was he doing there as early as 10a.m on that fateful morning of Tuesday, 7th August, 2018?” The R-APC queried.
The breakaway faction of the APC in the statement called for an independent Judicial Investigation Panel made of eminent jurists to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the failed political coup d’etat that clearly undermined the Legislature as an arm of government, and also the invasion of the private residences of Judges, siege on the residences of the Senate President and his Deputy.
“Getting the Police to do the job is to exonerate the Police bearing in mind their earlier siege on the residences of the Senate President and Deputy Senate President barely a week earlier.
“We have continuously insisted that this APC-led government under President Buhari have “outsourced governance” to the cabals. We are however relieved that God has commenced the “Greatest Revelations” of all anti-democratic elements in this government, that made thousands of our members to break away. The NASS could upon resumption, also institute a high-powered Investigative Panel to unravel the several invasions that have become the operative themes in our fledgling democracy,” it said.
It condemned the high-handedness against its members who have defected to the political parties of their choice citing the deputy speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly as the latest victim of executive lawlessness in the past couple of days because he defected to from the APC. The R-APC also condemned the wanton killings in Kogi state during the just concluded by-election pointing out that under the APC the Muhammadu Buhari led APC federal government, human lives have become cheap and of no value.
“The political tension in the country is avoidable if only the APC-led government and the party chieftains could refrain from making reckless militarised utterances to heat up the system instead of facing the huge task of providing leadership for the country. The level of extreme poverty and increasing rate of unemployment across the country are realities that should worry any serious-minded government that has the interest of the people at heart.
“We are calling on the Senate President to invoke the provisions of section 68 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in declaring the seat of Senator Godswill Akpabio vacant. It is not on record that there is division in the opposition PDP, hence this declaration will be a step in the right direction.
“As the National Assembly plans to resume on Tuesday, we are calling on all Nigerians and lovers of democracy to be extra-vigilant before and during the plenary. The latest plans by the APC may yet again leave unsavoury taste in our mouths,” the statement said.
Innocent Odoh, Abuja
