•‘Frustrated lawmakers behind rumours’
Investigation has revealed that the alleged plot to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan is not true after all.
Findings showed that the rumour was originated by a few senators whose quest to return to the Senate is under serious threat after the recent nationwide Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ward congresses, and therefore sees the impeachment threat as a tool to blackmail and threaten the President to come to their aid.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, while responding to inquiries on the authenticity of the alleged impeachment plot, simply responded to the text message sent by Sunday Mirror that, “No, not to my knowledge such plot.”
It was reported that 63 senators have signed up to support the impeachment of the President.
The report also alleged that the group has commenced the compilation of the President’s impeachable offences.
But one of the ranking senators from the North Central zone of the country who spoke to Sunday Mirror under condition of anonymity questioned what the President did to warrant the reported impeachment by the parliament.
He said the Senate is made up of experienced and matured members who do not act in unserious and irresponsible manner as to be associated with such frivolous acts.
“The Senate is known to be a very serious arm of the National Assembly. The men and women we have there are people of unquestionable integrity. The senators do not act irresponsibly and therefore cannot be associated with such a baseless rumour. The Senate has always acted as a mediating institution to stabilize the polity and not create unnecessary political tensions.
“If the Senate has any grievance they think the President can resolve, they take such a matter to him, as has been the case in the past.
We do not act irresponsibly. That is why Mr. President has a lot of respect and regard for us. When some of us had issues with our state governors recently, we went to Mr. President and he addressed it to our satisfaction,” the lawmaker said.
He wondered what has happened between then and now to warrant such an “unfounded and baseless,” rumour of impeachment.
The lawmaker remarked that “if you read the reports, they bear similar style and content, showing that somebody must have gathered a few reporters and dictated to them what to write and they went about it without applying discretion.”
Another ranking senator from the North West geo-political zone, who also spoke with Sunday Mirror, expressed surprise at the source of the reported impeachment allegation.
Going back to memory lane, he asked, apart from sometime in 2005 when the Senate was involved in the attempt to impeach the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, have you ever heard that the Senate has engaged is similar acts?
According to him, “The Senate is made up of very serious minded persons who do not have time to engage in unserious matters.
“For your information, the process of impeaching a President or indeed a state governor is a serious parliamentary act.”
Citing section 143 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which deals with the issue of impeachment, the lawmaker remarked that the framers of the Constitution intended the process to be a very serious exercise.
According to him, from the Constitutional provisions, the President must be seen to have seriously and reasonably violated the constitution before the process can sail through.
He said the violation, which the constitution intends, is not the type of hearsay being bandied by those behind the recent allegation.
The lawmaker noted that, “If you observe, the presidency in an apparent realisation that the report originated from a source that is not credible has decided not to comment on the issue or take any action because it will simmer out the same way it surfaced”.
Another senator from the South-South region simply dismissed our correspondent when asked to comment on the alleged impeachment.
“My friend, I don’t have time for such baseless and unfounded allegation. I don’t comment on hearsay and rumours. Right now, I am in my constituency and saddled with issues from my constituents. We in the Senate have more serious things to do with our time and our constituencies than engage in such frivolous allegations”. With that, the lawmaker banged the phone on our reporter.
Source: National Mirror
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