The Lagos Diary.......: Uche Chuwkuwmerije wants Jonathan impeached

What do you think about the impeachment

An attempt by Senator Uche Chukwumerije yesterday to secure his colleagues’ nod on his move to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan over alleged disregard of National Assembly resolutions met a brickwall.The Abia State-born lawmaker had warned that he would sponsor a motion to remove the President for allegedly not implementing a resolution against the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) which a Senate committee report said did not obtain National Council on Privatisation’s (NCP) approval on some of its activities. Chukwumerije said that he had started collecting the signatures of Senators to actualise the planned impeachment of the President. This is even as the Senate yesterday warned Information Minister Labaran Maku to watch his utterances over the controversial new N5000 note.

The minister had on Wednesday said National Assembly’s resolutions were not binding on the Presidency, adding that they were merely ‘advisory’. Maku was reacting to the federal legislature which asked the government to stop work on the new note. But yesterday, Chukwumerije made the threat during a debate on a Bill for an Act to amend Public Enterprises (Privatrisation and Commercialisation) Act CAP P38 LFN (2004). Chukwumerije claimed that the Presidency had routinely ignored resolutions from the National Assembly, noting that he would not hesitate to move for Jonathan’s impeachment should it come up on the floor of the Senate. The Senator noted that the President had allegedly refused to implement the BPE report, months after the document was forwarded to him for further action.

His words: “The Ahmad Lawan report is the highest moral ground of the Seventh Senate so far. It was that report that convinced everybody, that the hope of this country lies with the Senate; that there’s still one body that’s concerned with the nation, which lies far above sectionalism. “The pattern in this country all along had been one siphoning of the country’s funds through all sorts of legal subtleties to private pockets and private companies. “And for the first time, there was a bold report that exposed the rot and we called for a reversal of this pattern…unfortunately, it is business as usual. It is, therefore, in the interest of this Senate that in addition to what we are doing on this Act as we are doing now, we must pass a resolution calling the attention of Mr. President to the main body of that report.

“As at two weeks ago, we have started collecting signatures, that if we collect up to two thirds of the Senate here, we are going to get here a motion that would give marching orders to Mr. President. We are getting to that stage.

“They are looting public funds with impunity and nobody is saying anything… “When it comes to the stage of threatening impeachment, I, Uche Chukwumerije, will move the motion.” The committee report had among other recommendations, called for the sack of BPE boss, Ms Bola Onagoruwa. She was accused of taking unilateral decisions without the backing of the NCP. Immediately he finished his speech, some Senators shouted in Igbo and English: “mba, no, no…”

Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday warned Maku to desist from speaking on resolutions emanating from the National Assembly, as he was not elected to speak on behalf of Nigerians. On Wednesday, Maku said the Presidency was not compelled to implement resolutions of the National Assembly, as they were merely “advisory.”

On Tuesday, in a unanimous resolution, the two chambers of the National Assembly urged President Jonathan to stop the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from going ahead with the introduction of the N5000 note and coinage of some naira notes. Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided at yesterday’s plenary, said: “I don’t think we need the Minister of Information or any minister to remind us that our resolutions are not binding just as we don’t need to remind him that he was not elected.

“So, we know that our resolutions are not binding, but the decisions we take in this Senate and especially, regarding the resolutions taken in the National Assembly are amalgamations of the views of very responsible Nigerians. “To that extent, it is very persuasive and anyone who ignores the resolution of this Senate is doing so at the expense of good governance and we cannot encourage such a thing.” On Tuesday evening, President Jonathan met with Senate President David Mark and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and reportedly agreed to halt action on the N5000 note.