The presidency has reacted to the call by opposition senators from various political parties threatening to commence impeachment proceedings against President Muhammadu Buhari.
Femi Adesina, the president’s special adviser, media and publicity, while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today described the threat by the lawmakers as a bluff and a waste of the country’s time.
Recall during the plenary on Wednesday the senators staged a walkout from the legislative chamber chanting songs, calling for the President’s resignation.
What Mr Adesina is saying
Mr Femi Adesina said “I think it was just bravado, and sadly, security is not something you subject to bravado.
“You don’t begin to issue flippant ultimatums in something that is a matter of life and death,”
“They know in their heart of hearts that they cannot achieve what they are saying, they are just wasting the country’s time, wasting the time of the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, they know that they cannot achieve it.
“The truth is that in this kind of scenario, minority will always have its say while the majority will have its way.”
In the same vein, Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman, released a statement on Wednesday night describing the impeachment attempt as ridiculous.
- ”The performative and babyish antics of those senators staging a walk-out notwithstanding, Senate President Ahmad Lawan’s refusal on Wednesday to entertain the ridiculous motion to impeach our President was quite appropriate and correct.
- ”Rather than making a mockery out of voters by trying to imitate what they see in America, the opposition would be well advised that their time would be better spent tackling the pressing issues Nigerians face, such as the current global cost of living crisis.
- ”Their continued failure to do so goes some way to explaining why they remain in opposition.
- ”In contrast, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is committed to finding lasting solutions to the emerging security threats, including those left behind by the PDP in the South-South, the Northeast and throughout the federation.
- ”In the last 24 hours, two more Chibok girls were freed, in addition to the three brought home last week.
- ”These kinds of headline-grabbing stunts for which the opposition is now well known serve no one, least of all their constituents.
- ”We would respectfully remind them that it is those same constituents that they were elected to serve, and are paid to do so with public money.
- “No one is asking them to waste their time attempting to impeach a democratically elected President at the end of his second term certainly not their constituents.
- “They should ask themselves: do they want to be in government or do they want to be in the headlines? If they want to be in government they should start acting like it and stop undermining Nigerian voters,” the statement reads.
What you should know
- Opposition senators from various political parties have threatened to commence impeachment proceedings against President Muhammadu Buhari if he fails to address the high level of insecurity in the country. The federal lawmakers have subsequently issued a 6-week ultimatum to the President to tackle the security challenges.
- The opposition senators had earlier staged a walkout from the senate chamber after the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, refused to follow the resolutions reached by them across party lines at a closed-door session.
- The position of the senators was made known by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Phillip Aduda, on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the National Assembly in Abuja, after a closed-door session.
Well, it might sound like or look like ‘babyish antics to the Presidency, but, just as security is a matter involving life and death, not being glaringly decisive on security matters especially when you are seen as a defence and security expert is also a matter of life and death.