Last Thursday, the police were brought in to the National Assembly, locking the entrance to the complex, forcing parliamentarians to climb over the gate and forcing their way through. It is thought that the executive wanted to use the pretext of lawmakers not in the chambers as an opportunity to impeach the speaker Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal.
However, after lawmakers forced their way into the premises, Speaker Tambuwal resumed his seat and the house sat as usual. Following the incident, several All Progressives Congress (APC) senators joined their counterparts in the House of Representatives in implementing impeachments proceedings against President Jonathan.
In the House of Representatives, as many as 148 APC members signed an impeachment notice register and now the move is said to be gaining popularity among PDP legislators. Apparently the PDP senators have started compiling impeachable offences against the president in protest at what they described as the high level of impunity and corruption being condoned by his administration.
One APC senator said: “I was personally consulted this evening over the issue and I also cross-checked from my colleagues who also told me that they had been contacted. The grouse of the lawmakers, according to the person that contacted me, was the handling of last week Thursday’s invasion of the National Assembly by the police and from the look of things, the proceedings will start on Tuesday because some signatures have been collected already."
Another PDP senator added: “Our President is not in charge and we have seen that he has allowed the governors to hijack power from him. He is just like a puppet and the earlier we act fast, the better for us.”
Ekiti Central's Senator Babafemi Ojudu, said he and his colleagues were very annoyed with the ways they were maltreated and molested by the policemen, who were deployed in the National Assembly on the orders of the inspector general of police (IGP). He said a majority of his members were of the opinion that the inspector general of police should be asked to resign for allegedly ridiculing the federal lawmakers who had done nothing wrong other than going to carry out their lawful legislative activities.
Senator Ojudu added: "We are holding a crucial meeting tonight to take a final decision on the matter because a majority of us are really angry. Some are even of the opinion that we should demand the resignation or sacking of the IGP."
-Source: NigeriaWatch
No comments:
Post a Comment