Headline

Catalogue of President Buhari’s Impeachable Offences

Published

8 years ago

July 28, 2018

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Scholars of constitutional law have affirmed that by taking the Oath of Office, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria commits himself to specific goals of general nature to wit:(i) bear allegiance to the Republic;(ii) faithfully discharge his duties in accordance with the Constitution;(iii) strive to preserve the fundamental objectives and principles of state policy;(iv) avoid influence caused by personal interest;(v) abide by the code of conduct; and(vi) treat all people equally under the law”.

Overtly and covertly, through body language and coded speeches, the members of the National Assembly have at one time or another called for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari. What they distinguished members have lacked the courage to do so far is to muster enough willpower to move a motion on the floor of the house, quoting relevant sections of the constitution, citing instances and then ask for the removal of the President. No one has done it. No one has enough liver to it though many of them have come close with their ‘tongue in cheek’ mode of speaking. But removing a President has nothing to do with speaking tongue in cheek.

The closest however the members of the House of Representatives came was in April of 2018 when as major online platforms put it, they “called for President Muhammadu Buhari’s impeachment for approving the withdrawal of sum of $496 million without their nod”.

On the said day, the ‘honourables’ were livid, saying the President had really overstepped his boundary.

The President had written to the house, defending his approval of the money used for the procurement of 12 Super Tucano aircraft from the US. The money was said to have been withdrawn from the excess crude account (ECA).

In the letter written, Buhari said he had anticipated the lawmakers would approve the withdrawal.

Citing sections 80 and 81 of 1999 constitution, Kingsley Chinda, from Rivers state, said the Nigerian law does not recognise “anticipatory approval”.

“There is nowhere in our law that talked about anticipatory approval. We cannot sit down and allow this to take place. It is an impeachable offence. There is no infraction that is worse than this. Let us not continue to sleep. I propose that we commence the impeachment of Mr President,” he said.

Nothing was heard of Hon Chinda’s proposition ever again.

Ever since the present administration assumed office in 2015, the country has basically been divided along many lines, creating two broad bases of core loyalists to the president irrespective of how right or wrong his actions are, and the agitators/critics no matter what is presented on the table.

But stakeholders are of the opinion that the President has consciously or otherwise fallen short of the dictates of the constitution he swore to defend, thereby creating spaces for the National Assembly to begin the process of removing him from office. They added that for reasons yet unknown, the National Assembly has failed to live up to expectation.

Constitutional Interpretation on ‘Impeachment’

Section 143 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) deals with the removal of the president and vice-president from office. It is a very long process, taking at least three months to complete.

(1) The President or Vice-President may be removed from office in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) Whenever a notice of any allegation in writing signed by not less than one-third of the members of the National Assembly:-

(a) is presented to the President of the Senate;

(b) stating that the holder of the office of President or Vice-President is guilty of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office, detailed particulars of which shall be specified, the President of the Senate shall within seven days of the receipt of the notice cause a copy thereof to be served on the holder of the office and on each member of the National Assembly, and shall also cause any statement made in reply to the allegation by the holder of the office to be served on each member of the National Assembly.

(3) Within fourteen days of the presentation of the notice to the President of the Senate (whether or not any statement was made by the holder of the office in reply to the allegation contained in the notice) each House of the National Assembly shall resolve by motion without any debate whether or not the allegation shall be investigated.

(4) A motion of the National Assembly that the allegation be investigated shall not be declared as having been passed, unless it is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly.

(5) Within seven days of the passing of a motion under the foregoing provisions, the Chief Justice of Nigeria shall at the request of the President of the Senate appoint a Panel of seven persons who in his opinion are of unquestionable integrity, not being members of any public service, legislative house or political party, to investigate the allegation as provide in this section.

(6) The holder of an office whose conduct is being investigated under this section shall have the right to defend himself in person and be represented before the Panel by legal practitioners of his own choice.

(7) A Panel appointed under this section shall –

(a) have such powers and exercise its functions in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by the National Assembly; and

(b) within three months of its appointment report its findings to each House of the National Assembly.

(8) Where the Panel reports to each House of the National Assembly that the allegation has not been proved, no further proceedings shall be taken in respect of the matter.

(9) Where the report of the Panel is that the allegation against the holder of the office has been proved, then within fourteen days of the receipt of the report at the House the National Assembly shall consider the report, and if by a resolution of each House of the National Assembly supported by not less than two-thirds majority of all its members, the report of the Panel is adopted, then the holder of the office shall stand removed from office as from the date of the adoption of the report.

(10) No proceedings or determination of the Panel or of the National Assembly or any matter relating thereto shall be entertained or questioned in any court.

(11) In this section –

“gross misconduct” means a grave violation or breach of the provisions of this Constitution or a misconduct of such nature as amounts in the opinion of the National Assembly to gross misconduct.

A legal luminary, who prefers anonymity told the Boss that the foot dragging of the National Assembly may be as a result of some factors namely: the long and cumbersome nature of the process of impeachment; the fact that majority of the members in both chambers are the president’s party men, and may not want to eat their own, and lastly, some members may have been monetarily induced to look the other way.

Whichever way the matter is looked, here are a retinue of impeachable offences the President may have committed:

In the first place, the Federal character arrangement, which the country holds dear in the appointment of key officers, is known to have been breached. In the words of one senator of the federal Republic of Nigeria and member of the Akwa-Ibom State Elders Forum, Senator Anietie Okon, that breach is unconstitutional, and whatever goes against the constitution is an impeachable offence.

Hear him: “Again; even in the attempt to people his administration, what we have had is a clear breach of the Constitution.

“The very foundations of this country are very clear. The foundations demand recognition of the differences that have ensured the emergence of a country and it is unacceptable where you fail to recognize the federal character of our make up as a country. This is not only condemnable but poses real danger for the future of this country.

“I have pointed out where there are fundamental breaches and failure in his approach to governance of this country. The cardinal points that ensure that this country remains one cohesive group, one cohesive nation are being threatened by the lopsidedness and cavalier approach to the appointments he is making into the federal system.”

Again, in 2017, it was condemned as an impeachable infraction by President Muhammadu Buhari purportedly directed the World Bank to focus all her developmental assistance to Northern Nigeria.

Recall that the President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim, said in Washington DC that the bank had concentrated on the northern region of Nigeria in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s request.

Kim said, “You know, in my very first meeting with President Buhari he said specifically that he would like us to shift our focus to the northern region of Nigeria and we’ve done that. Now, it has been very difficult. The work there has been very difficult.”

“Despite that, there is so much turbulence in the northern part of the country, and there is the hit that was taken from the drop in the oil prices. Nigeria has to think ahead and invest in its people. Investing in the things that will allow Nigeria to be a thriving, rapidly growing economy in the future is what the country has to focus on right now.”

“Focusing on the northern part of Nigeria, we hope that as commodity prices stabilize and oil prices come back up, the economy will grow a bit more. But very, very much important is the need to focus on what the drivers of growth in the future will be.”

The President’s directive, which he however, later denied as being misquoted, is assumed as constitutionally going against his Oath of Allegiance which stipulates being treating everyone as equal before the law.

A group that took up the matter at the time, urged the National Assembly to begin an impeachment process because a breach of constitutional oaths of office as contained Under Sections 140(1) and 140(2) of the constitution, is extensively damaging.

Probably the most brazen of them all was the withdrawal of $496million for the purchase of aircraft from the United States from the excess crude account, a move made some senators and representatives to call for the President’s impeachment.

Section 143 of the Nigerian constitution provides for the removal of the president from office.

Making the call, Matthew Uroghide, Edo State, said President Buhari’s move was a violation of the constitution and thus, he should face the consequences. He was supported by Senator Chukwuka Utazi.

The catalogue is not exclusive of the President’s inability to call his security chiefs to account in the midst of the spate of religious and ethnic killings across the country, and taking into account the abandonment of statutory duties for accumulated 150 days

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe representing Abia once berated the President as incompetent, a fact which other senators such as Ben Murray-Bruce, Marafa, Shehu Sani among others have echoed.

The question remains when will the big stick be wield in the midst illegality which stakeholders have said the government of the day represents.

Headline

Atiku Condemns FG’s Hike in WAEC, NECO Fees As Cruel, Warns of Swell in Number of Out-of-school Children

Published

45 minutes ago

July 12, 2026

Eric

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the Federal Government’s continued escalation of the cost of public education, describing the recent increase in fees for Federal Unity Colleges and the reported approval of a uniform ₦50,000 examination fee for West African Examinations Council WAEC and National Examinations Council NECO candidates from 2027 as cruel.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Sunday, Atiku noted that education remains the greatest instrument of social mobility and the surest pathway out of poverty for millions of children from humble backgrounds, adding that every additional financial burden imposed on parents translates into another child being denied the opportunity to learn, dream and contribute meaningfully to society.

“Nigeria already bears the painful distinction of having one of the largest populations of out-of-school children in the world. Depending on the methodology and age group measured, between 10.5 million and about 15 million Nigerian children and young people are already outside the classroom. Any government confronted with such a national emergency should be investing aggressively to bring these children back into school. Instead, this administration is choosing policies that will inevitably swell those numbers,” he said.

He warned that increasing fees in Federal Unity Colleges while imposing significantly higher costs on WAEC and NECO examinations would disproportionately affect children from poor and middle-income families, whose parents are already making impossible choices between food, healthcare, transportation, and education.

“The same administration whose policies are progressively narrowing access to public tertiary education continues to project the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as one of its flagship achievements. Yet a university loan offers little comfort to a child who has already been priced out of secondary education or cannot afford the qualifying examination required for admission. A government cannot credibly claim to be expanding access to higher education while simultaneously erecting financial barriers that prevent millions of young Nigerians from ever reaching the university gates.

“Genuine educational reform begins by making education affordable from the primary and secondary levels, expanding the carrying capacity of our tertiary institutions, and ensuring that poverty never becomes the reason a child is denied the opportunity to learn. A government that truly believes in education invests in classrooms before it invests in loans.

“No nation has ever taxed its way into educational excellence. Countries that aspire to economic greatness invest more—not less—in education during difficult times because they understand that human capital is the engine of sustainable development. Nigeria cannot build a globally competitive economy while systematically pricing millions of its children out of classrooms”, he added.

Atiku therefore called on President Tinubu to immediately reverse the increase in Unity School fees and the proposed ₦50,000 WAEC and NECO examination fee, and convene an urgent stakeholders’ dialogue on sustainable financing for public education.

“By the grace of Almighty God, I remain confident that Nigerians will reject policies that punish their children and make education the exclusive preserve of those who can afford it. The African Democratic Congress is committed to restoring education as a public good, not a privilege.

“An ADC-led government will not permit this unjust and punitive increase in examination fees. Instead, we shall reverse policies that place education beyond the reach of ordinary families, expand access to quality education at every level, increase the carrying capacity of our tertiary institutions, and ensure that every Nigerian child, regardless of background, has a fair opportunity to learn, excel and fulfil his or her God-given potential,” he added.

The Vanguard

Headline

You Are Either Lazy or Too Embarrassed to Acknowledge My Statement – Atiku Blasts Tinubu

Published

1 day ago

July 11, 2026

Eric

The Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has described the Presidency’s claim that he remained silent following the rescue of the abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State as a reckless distortion of facts that collapses under the weight of documentary evidence.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said there are only two possible explanations for the Presidency’s latest outburst: either its media handlers were too lazy to acquaint themselves with publicly available facts before rushing to attack the opposition, or they were too embarrassed by the substance of his statement to acknowledge its existence.

“It is astonishing that a Presidency with limitless public resources could accuse someone of silence without carrying out the most basic verification. Either they failed to read our statement because they were too lazy to do so, or they deliberately ignored it because it exposed uncomfortable truths about their misplaced priorities.”

Atiku said that, contrary to the false narrative being peddled, he issued a comprehensive press statement earlier today titled ‘A Nation at War Needs a Commander-in-Chief, Not a Campaigner-in-Chief’, in which he welcomed the rescue of the children, commended the gallantry of the Armed Forces and other security agencies, and called for sustained efforts to rescue every Nigerian still in captivity.

“For the benefit of Nigerians and to expose the falsehood being circulated by the Presidency, we reproduce below the relevant portions of that statement.”

> “The Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has welcomed the rescue of the abducted schoolchildren and teachers from Oyo State, describing it as a moment of profound relief for their families and millions of Nigerians who never stopped praying for their safe return.”

> “In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku commended the courage, professionalism and sacrifice of the officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies whose gallantry made the operation possible.”

> “‘The rescue of innocent schoolchildren from the hands of terrorists is a victory for our gallant troops and a source of hope for every Nigerian family. They deserve the gratitude of the nation,’ Atiku stated.”

> “Atiku stressed that the successful rescue of the Oyo schoolchildren should not distract the nation from the painful reality that many other Nigerians—including abducted schoolchildren and innocent citizens in Borno and several other parts of the country—remain in captivity.”

> “‘One successful rescue must not become an excuse for self-congratulation. A nation cannot celebrate while other parents still go to bed not knowing whether their children are alive or dead. Our work is not done until every abducted Nigerian is safely reunited with his or her family.'”

> “Atiku urged the Federal Government to sustain relentless pressure on terrorists, bandits and kidnappers until every abducted Nigerian is rescued and every community under siege regains peace and security.”

Atiku said the reproduced excerpts expose the Presidency’s allegation as entirely false.

“The facts are now before Nigerians. We did not only congratulate the security agencies, we praised their courage, professionalism and sacrifice in unmistakable terms. What we declined to do was to applaud a Commander-in-Chief who, at a defining moment of national importance, remained publicly preoccupied with partisan political activities instead of personally leading the nation in celebrating the success of our troops and reassuring families whose loved ones remain in captivity.”

He added that no amount of propaganda can erase the fundamental questions raised in the earlier statement.

“The rescue of the Oyo schoolchildren brought joy to the nation, but Nigerians are still asking: when will the children abducted in Borno and other innocent citizens across the country also regain their freedom? Those questions remain unanswered.”

Atiku urged the Presidency to devote less energy to manufacturing controversies around opposition statements and more energy to confronting the grave security challenges facing the country.

“A government secure in its performance does not invent silence where there was a documented public statement. It responds to legitimate concerns with facts and results, not propaganda. Nigerians deserve a Presidency focused on rescuing every citizen still in captivity rather than one preoccupied with monitoring and misrepresenting the opposition.”

Headline

Tinubu Meets Service Chiefs over Worsening Insecurity

Published

2 days ago

July 10, 2026

Eric

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Thursday, held a closed-door meeting with Nigeria’s Security Chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as the Federal government reviewed the worsening security situation across the country.

The meeting focused on a comprehensive assessment of security challenges and developments across various theatres of operation.

Among those in attendance were the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa; Chief of Defence Staff, Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Waidi Shaibu; and Chief of Defence Intelligence, Emmanuel Undiandeye.

Also present were the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Adeola Ajayi; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed; the President’s Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (retd.) alongside other security officials.

The meeting came 48 hours after troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA, supported by the Air Component of the Joint Task Force (North West), foiled what the military described as a major planned terrorist offensive in Zamfara State and Katsina.

According to the military, the operation, carried out on July 7, involved three Nigerian Air Force aircraft that tracked a convoy of about 300 heavily armed terrorists travelling on motorcycles from the Sunke-Kumbo axis towards Gummi before launching precision airstrikes on the convoy.

The outcome of Thursday’s security meeting was not immediately disclosed, but it comes amid growing concerns over persistent attacks by terrorists, bandits, and other armed groups in several parts of the country.