What a lucky man,

AC Reps ask Yar’Adua to handover to Jonathan
By Festus Owete


December 9, 2009 01:13AMT
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The Action Congress (AC) Caucus in the House of Representatives on Tuesday asked ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua to invoke section 145 of the 1999 Constitution and transfer power to his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, pending when he recovers from his illness and subsequent return from Saudi Arabia where he is receiving treatment.

Section 145 of the constitution states that “whenever the president transmits to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such functions shall be discharged by the vice-president as acting president.”

The party caucus also condemned the position of a group of lawmakers in the House, the Integrity Group, which last week kicked against the call by 56 eminent personalities that Mr. Yar’Adua should resign. The caucus said the group, which spearheaded the removal of the former Speaker, Patricia Etteh, over allegations of corruption, has ceased functioning since 2007. The leader of the AC caucus, Femi Gbajabiamila, said at a press conference in Abuja that though it is wrong to politicise the president’s state of health, in order to avoid rancour and a constitutional crisis, he (president) should officially write the Senate president and Speaker of the House and transfer powers to Mr. Jonathan to assume acting position.

No need to resign

Mr. Gbajabiamila, who was accompanied by about six other members of the caucus, argued that Mr. Yar’Adua does not need to resign, but can legally empower his vice to discharge the functions of the president in acting capacity.

“To avoid unnecessary rancour and a constitutional crisis, we proffer the following solution; that the President invoke section 145 of the constitution and immediately send a written declaration to the Senate president and the speaker of the House that he is unable to discharge the functions of his office.

“This would achieve two things: first, there would then be a legal transfer of his powers to the vice president and second, not being a resignation letter, it should be satisfactory to those who oppose resignation. By section 145, Mr. President can then write upon his return and immediately regain his powers. It is as simple as that. A win-win solution,” he said.

The lawmaker, who is also the minority whip of the House, stated that the caucus is disturbed that Mr. Yar’Adua’s health is being politicised, adding that since the president is not on vacation and the Federal Executive Council has declared that he can still discharge his duties in spite of his ill health, the vice president should be allowed to act as president.

“Now we know and all agree that Mr. President is not on vacation and since the people in the Presidency say he is just sick and can still discharge the functions of his office, the only provision that can effectively bring in the vice president to discharge the functions of the office is section 146 which gives the vice president the powers to act as president in the case of resignation of Mr. President,” he added.


Mr. Gbajabiamila also berated the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who reportedly declared that the president can be out of the country for one year and rule by proxy. He argued that such an action would be “an irresponsible path to follow and a ridiculous interpretation of our constitution.” He argued that there is nothing wrong in asking the president to resign for reasons of ill health if it could affect his ability to discharge his duties, stating that leaders in other parts of the world, including Fidel Castro of Cuba did so while a special adviser to the Lagos State governor resigned recently over ill health. Mr Gbajabiamila explained that resignation and prayers are not exclusive of each other, saying “indeed they can be done simultaneously and with probably a greater chance of achieving the desired result, which is the good health of the President.

“Now, if the president were to resign on his own volition, he would be doing so amidst tears of love and people even pleading for him to stay. That is dignity; that is grace; that is selflessness; but then also it’s just an opinion.”

The lawmaker said that the Integrity Group which addressed a press conference on the president’s health last week no longer exists, saying “if what is referred to as the Integrity Group is the group of members of the House who, during a trying period two years ago came together for a specific purpose occasioned by the House crisis, that group no longer exists.”

The controversy over whether Mr. Yar’Adua, now attending to his ill health in Saudi Arabia, should keep functioning as president, has continued to dominate discussions in the country


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