SPECIAL Adviser on National Assembly Matters to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Mohammed Abba-Aji, will appear before the Senate today over the letter allegedly transmitted through him to the National Assembly before the President embarked on his medical trip to Saudi Arabia.
Yar’Adua jetted to Saudi Arabia on November 23, last year, to receive treatment for acute pericarditis.
His alleged refusal to write the National Assembly in conformity with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, before embarking on the trip, has since caused a widespread furore.
But Senate President David Mark announced yesterday that Abba-Aji would appear before the lawmakers at plenary today by noon.
Although he was not specific on the purpose of the invitation, sources, however, said that it is not unconnected with the letter, which was said to be “missing” in transit.
Yar’Adua had left the country on
A national newspaper (not the Nigerian Compass) had reported in December, last year that the President actually wrote the letter and transmitted it through Abba-Aji, who promptly denied knowledge of such correspondence.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus in the upper chamber was billed to meet yesterday evening with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party at the Senate President’s Apo Mansion.
Although details of the meeting’s agenda were not disclosed by Mark yesterday, it might not be unconnected with the ongoing consultations on how to find a solution to the lingering impasse generated by Yar’Adua’s absence.
Sources in the Senate, however, told the Nigerian Compass yesterday that when the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, appeared before the senators behind closed-door penultimate week, he, indeed, told them that there was a letter from Yar’Adua to the National Assembly before he left the country for Saudi Arabia.
The Senate had summoned the SGF to come before it and declare the true state of health of the President.
The move to summon Yayale followed the rejection of a motion seeking the resolution of the upper chamber to visit the ailing Yar’Adua in Saudi Arabia.
According to the source, Yayale urged the lawmakers to find out from Abba-Aji what happened to the letter.
The source explained further that the SGF stunned the senators when he told them that he actually drafted the letter, which he forwarded to the Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), for legal input after which he took the letter to the President who actually signed it.
Yayale was quoted to have said that the letter, which he drafted, had sought a six- week vacation for the President to enable him attend to his health, adding that it might have been intercepted by some “forces at the Aso Villa, which prevented Abba-Aji from presenting the letter as instructed”.
The source added that upon the revelation, the Senate set up a panel to investigate the matter to know the veracity of Yayale’s claim, the outcome of which necessitated the summon issued on Abba-Aji.
It was learnt yesterday that senators might ask Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to relieve Abba-Aji of his current position, if it is discovered that he deliberately withheld the letter.
But for the quick intervention of some lawmakers and the leadership, the debate on a motion on the long absence of Yar’Adua would have ended in fisticuff in the House of Representatives yesterday.
While a member of the anti-Yar’Adua group moved the motion, leading to a heated debate, the pro-Yar’Adua members stood their ground that the motion should not be heard.
A fisticuff between Independence Ogunewe and Ado Dokwa on the floor of the House was, however, averted by some lawmakers, who stood in-between the duo and prevented them from reaching each other.
Ogunewe was boiling that Dokwal teased him to remember his (Ogunewe) suspension from the House.
All efforts made to calm him down were ignored.
Dokwal had to run out of the chamber, leaving his cell phones and documents behind, to avert an ugly situation.
Besides, Igo Agoma engaged Henry Dickson in a hot exchange of words, which would have led to an exchange of blows, but for the quick intervention of Ndudi Elumelu, who came in-between them.
It was a shouting match as members were sharply divided through several Points of Order and Order of Privilege on whether the motion should be allowed or not.
Speaker Dimeji Bankole, however, ruled that the motion should come up when it was obvious that the anti-Yar’Adua members were more than the opposition.
Efforts by those advocating that Jonathan should be empowered to act through the motion were, however, frustrated.
Several consultations took place before the motions were allowed.
Raised by Muhammad Sani Abdul (ANPP, Bauchi), it was, nonetheless, defeated after a careful deliberation, with the argument that since the Vice President is already performing the functions of the President, there was no need for any special motion for his duties.
While moving the motion, Abdul urged Yar’Adua to transmit a letter to the National Assembly within two weeks of his absence from the country pursuant to Section 145 of the constitution.
He noted that the President has been away from the country since November 23 and that no formal notice of his absence was transmitted to the National Assembly.
He observed that all Nigerians, including members of the National Assembly, have been praying for the quick recovery and return of the President, adding that he was also worried that unnecessary controversies regarding the leadership status of the country are unduly overheating the polity.
While supporting the motion, Femi Gbajabiamila (AC, Lagos) explained that what is contentious in Section 144 of the Constitution is the discretionary power, which should not be abused.
According to him, “the argument here is that it is about asking the President to comply with Section 144 of the Constitution. If the President actually delegated power to the Vice President before he left for Saudi Arabia, why then was the supplementary budget taken to Saudi for his assent.”
He drew the attention of his colleagues to the fact that it is only the executive power that could be delegated under the principle of separation of power but that presidential power cannot be delegated under Section 5 of the Constitution.
He stated that Vice President has no presidential power and that is why he could not speak with the United States President on the listing of Nigeria on the terror watch list.
But those who opposed the motion, including Abdul Ningi, Aliyu Ndume and others argued that the court ruling on the matter is very clear and that the Vice President is already performing the functions of the President.
They also argued that the Vice President has been presiding over the FEC meetings and has on several occasions received envoys from foreign countries, adding that “the motion is unnecessary and uncalled for.”
Also yesterday, the leadership of the PDP told Jonathan to depend on God for the position of the acting President.
The message was given when the National Chairman of the party, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, and other members of his executive paid a solidarity visit to the Vice President in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on behalf of the party.
Ogbulafor quoted Psalm 62: 11, which says: God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God to buttress his point.
The visit was the first by the PDP leadership since the controversy over Yar’Adua’s refusal to hand over to his deputy started.
The party praised Jonathan for his resilience in discharging his duty in the absence of the President, saying: “Throughout this period, you have demonstrated patriotism and an enviable measure of loyalty and statesmanship. You have through exemplary selflessness held the government and the country together in spite of the mischief of a few.
“We are particularly delighted with the prompt manner you handled the crisis in Jos, Plateau State. We also wish to appreciate your prompt response on behalf of the government of Nigeria to the tragedy in Haiti.
“We wish to place on record our deepest satisfaction with the manner you have steadied the ship of state in the absence of his Excellency, the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
“You have discharged your duties in the absence of Mr. President with distinction. We are proud that you have refused to be distracted by needless debates and controversies originating from some of our opponents.
“We maintain our earlier assertion that with you effectively on the saddle, there is no vacuum in the Presidency.”
Ogbulafor added: “Your Excellency, like all Nigerians from different spheres of life, we have been keenly following development in the country since the departure of Mr. President for medical attention.
“We wish to once again commend you for doing everything possible to ensure the smooth functioning of the affairs of government.
“On behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party, I pledge our unalloyed support to you as you continue to steer the ship of our nation. You can count on our support in this regard at all times. Furthermore, the word of the Holy Scripture in Psalm 62:11 is apt for this moment, that God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God.
Meanwhile, the controversies surrounding Yar’Adua’s health have torn apart the pan-
Northern socio-cultural group, Arewa Consultative Forum(ACF).
While the forum had insisted that Yar’Adua was unfit to rule, elder statesman and member of its Board of Trustees, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, distanced himself from the position.
Shocked by this, the ACF yesterday in Kaduna lambasted Yakassai, telling him to “stop lying”.
The forum said that it had discussed exhaustively and taken a position on the failing health of the President since December, last year, urging Yakassai not to feign ignorance of the position taken by both its National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Executive Council (NEC) on the issue.
The ACF had, also at the weekend, backed the position of the Eminent Elders Group, led by former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), that Yar’Adua should hand over to Jonathan, while seeking medical attention.
But Yakassai said there was no time the forum met to take a position on the issue, let alone declare that the President was not fit to rule.
According to him, “some members of the ACF are trying to hijack the organisation to serve the interest of some presidential candidates.”
But the National Publicity Secretary of the forum, Anthony Sani, yesterday insisted the forum had taken a position on the matter since last year.
The Northern elders added that as a non-political organisation, the forum at this point in the history of the country “cannot afford to be partisan in any form.”
The ACF added in a statement: “The attention of Arewa Consultative Forum has been drawn to a publication on page 7 of the Leadership of Wednesday, February 3, 2010, in which the elder statesman and member of the Board of Trustees in the person of Alhaji S.A. Tanko Yakassai has dissociated himself from a press release, which commended the Eminent Elders Group for giving voice to those who have been saying that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua should transmit a letter to the National Assembly to enable the Vice President perform the functions of a President, pending the recovery of Mr. President.
“(Alhaji S.A. Tanko) Yakassai dissociated himself from the statement because he is unable to recall when any organ of the ACF discussed such matter. As a member of the Board of Trustees, Alhaji Yakassai knows that the National Executive Council of ACF meets quarterly to discuss issues of national importance and importance to the North.
“The issue of the health status of Mr. President and the emerging politics of succession were extensively discussed by the National Working Committee of ACF on Tuesday 15th December, 2009, and by the National Executive Council on the 16th December 2009.
“The resolutions of the meetings were contained in the resultant communiqué issued on the 16th December, 2009 to the effect that those charged with the responsibility for the management of the health of Mr. President should be forthcoming with information on the health status of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for obvious reasons, and that should the need arise for politics of succession, ACF advised that the provision of the constitution should be the effective guide.
“The following press statement referred to by (Alhaji S.A. Tanko) Yakassai merely restated the position of the ACF on the current political situation in Nigeria, and does not contradict any past resolution of th ACF.
“The ACF comprises Northerners from all political parties and persuasions as well as those who are non-political. That is why the forum cannot afford to be partisan in any form.
“Thus, any charge against the ACF for partisanship to the extent of being hijacked by a presidential candidate is misinformed and, therefore, misdirected.
“It is instructive to note that while (Alhaji S.A. Tanko) Yakassai’s protest may stem from the best of intentions, the foregoing, which are on records for verification, were not taken into account in his protest. It would, therefore, be more helpful if he gets all his facts before going to press.
“All the same, it is the hope of the ACF that these explanations would go a long way towards dispelling any misconceptions and inspire confidence in the elder statesman in the moral capacity of the ACF to provide order and direction to one united North in diversity.”
Yesterday, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, urged the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to take action on the Senate resolution, urging Yar’Adua to obey Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.
A statement signed by the General Secretary of the group, Senator Femi Okunrounmu, yesterday said Afenifere made the appeal at its caucus meeting of February 2, held at its National Secretariat, Jibowu, Yaba, Lagos, presided over by its Leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.
The statement said it is the right of Nigerians to know the state of health of their President.
“And where the President appears no longer able to perform his duties due to ill-health, all constitutional processes must be activated without delay to ensure there is no vacuum of leadership at the highest level,” it stated.
Afenifere, therefore, called on the FEC “to act promptly” and save the country from further tension.
Former Sports Minister, Chief Alex Akinyele, also yesterday kicked against the long stay of Yar’Adua outside the country without following due process.
Supporting the views of other critics, Akinyele said that the only way forward for Nigeria “is for Yar’Adua to handover power to the Vice President Goodluck Jonathan”.
He stated: “When you are talking of matters that affect the whole nation, we’ll look at it from the point of view of nationality, patriotism; not your own personal interest but from national interest, that is the way forward.
“From my experience of Nigeria, we solve all our problems through dialogue, all the elder statesmen have come together to advise the ailing President to handover to the Vice President. I’m not afraid of anything; this country will remain what it is by the grace of God.”
Speaking on the recent rumours that the President had died, Akinyele said: “Since he is a Muslim, he’s not dead. If he dies in the morning, he will be buried in the afternoon. Muslims don’t keep bodies like stock fish. I think he’s alive but in a very bad shape. They can’t play politics up to that level. Somebody died; they will be keeping it secret? No. Muslims don’t joke with bodies. Immediately somebody dies, they bury that body same day, in the eighth day, there is Fidau and another in the fortieth day Fidau and they forget it.”
By
Johnchuks Onuanyim, Ayodele Adegbuyi, Abuja, Godwin Isenyo, Kaduna, Ronke Kehinde & Funmi Salome Johnson
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