Insecurity: APC, PDP Senators battle over Buhari’s impeachment threat

…As Minority caucus issues six weeks ultimatum to fix security

…Impeachment threat show of ‘bravado’ — Presidential Spokesperson

…Attempt by lawmakers to impeach Buhari belated, shameful undemocratic — Oluwajana

By Uthman Salami and Joel Oladele

The Senators of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) engaged in a battle of words yesterday following threat to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari by the minority caucus of the Senate.

The Minority caucus of the Senate had warned the President Buhari to implement key issues raised by the chamber to tackle insecurity across the country.

The Senators further warned the President that he stood the risk of impeachment if he failed to resolve security challenges bedeviling the country.

This rare warning was issued by the Senators during a Press Conference after the Caucus had staged a walk out of the Red Chamber.

Reacting to the threat of impeachment, the spokesperson to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina described the impeachment threat of the PDP caucus as a show of “Bravado.”

PDP minority caucus issues six weeks ultimatum to fix security challenges

The senators who are largely from the opposition parties told journalists in Abuja that the President only had six weeks to address the rising insecurity in the country or face impeachment.

The Senate Minority Leader, Philip Aduda, stated this while addressing reporters after the opposition lawmakers stormed out of the Senate plenary angrily, chanting “Buhari must go and Lawan should follow” to protest the worsening insecurity across the country.

What later led to walk out started when the Senate Minority Leader raised a point of order for the Red Chamber to deliberate on issues raised at the closed-door session, which lasted for two hours.

The Senate President Ahmad Lawan had, after the executive session, announced that issues relating to workings of the Senate and unity of Nigeria were discussed and asked the Senate leaders to proceed with the items listed on the Order Paper.

Aduda had raised a point of order to call for deliberation on issues discussed at the closed session, but Lawan ruled him out of order.

Irked by the ruling, the opposition Senators stormed out of the plenary, chanting songs, calling for President Buhari to quit.

Impeachment threat show of ‘bravado’ — Presidential Spokesperson 

“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,” Adesina asserted.

He further averred that “Those who spoke today are the minority of minorities, they will have their say as is needful in a democracy but it will not go beyond that.

“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, the minority will always have its say while the majority will have its way,” Adesina maintained.

Attempt by lawmakers to impeach Buhari belated, shameful undemocratic — Oluwajana

The immediate past National Vice Chairman, South West of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Wale Oluwajana described an attempt by the lawmakers to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari as shameful, belated and undemocratic.

Oluwajana while speaking with Nigerian NewsDirect said the lawmakers are only trying to appeal to the emotion of the electorates and they should be charged for sedition.

“It’s undemocratic, the constitution is clear if you want to impeach somebody you pass the resolution, it must be supported by I think at least two-third of the house. So if you have not gotten it, then you shouldn’t go on the street to match.

“We are not the ones to vote on the floor of the house, so who are they protesting to?

“They have the full chance in the house to present their case if they are able to have enough conviction, then they will get what it takes to impeach the president.

“They are going beyond the chamber of the house to go and appeal to the sentiment of the people.

“And in any case, the election is how many months away? Does it mean they have given up hope on winning the election?

“If at all they want a change, they should go and present their case to the voters, they can do that through the ballot, not protest.

“This is not Banana Republic, if anything else, they should face a charge of sedition for trying to incite the public against the President. That’s highly undemocratic and very shameful.

“Election is very near, they should go and campaign, but unfortunately for them, it’s not Buhari that is on the ballot. Did they just notice the insecurity now? It’s a belated effort.

“Nobody is actually happy about the security situation in the country, I’m not happy about it but those lawmakers went too far.

“There will soon be a change in the next election and looking at the track records of all the candidates, without sentiment, I think Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu stands out and I believe he will be able to tackle most of the challenges currently bedeviling the nation,” Oluwajana said.