These were the submissions of a Port Harcourt-based Senior Lawyer, Barrister Sebastine Hon (SAN) in a statement he issued on the raging controversy over the continued absence of President Yar’Adua from the seat of power.

The Senior Advocate who insisted that, “there is therefore, no vacuum in Aso Rock at present and never will there be” strongly disagreed with the recent statement by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa (SAN) that President Yar’Adua can rule from his sickbed or anywhere outside the country.

Quoting some decided Supreme Court matters, Hon warned against using a constitutional power to bring about an unconditional result.
“Nobody should therefore wrongfully rely on the provisions of Section 145 of the Constitution to claim that since the President did not officially communicate with the leadership of the National Assembly, the Vice President is not the Acting.
“Such interpretation will amount to using a constitutional provision to achieve an unconstitutional result which is not permissible under our constitutional jurisprudence”.

Also, the Senior Advocate reminded that Section 141 of the Constitution set up the office of the Vice President while Section 146 (1) gives him right to assume the office of the President under stipulated circumstances.
“We will safely assume, therefore, that under the Nigerian constitutional framework, the Vice President is not supposed to be an outsider in the Scheme of things in the Presidency.

“He is duly elected by the Nigerian electorate (and not appointed), hence cannot hold office at the behest or mercy of the President. Since he was elected by Nigerians, who are also paying him his emoluments, an unconstitutional result will be achieved if he is rendered lame duck or functional only as it pleases the President.
“Even in ordinary parlance, the word, “Vice” means, “in place of” or, “in succession to” or in the “stead” of somebody…. So, in the place or stead of the President, the Vice President can lawfully act”, he said.

The Senior Advocate disagreed, “in the strongest terms” with those who hold the view that there is a vacuum in the Presidency and that all that Vice President Jonathan has done or has been doing in his capacity as Acting President is unconstitutional.
“Such posturing will tantamount to reducing the exalted office of the President of Nigeria to the personal property of an individual. The framers of the Nigerian constitution never intended this result”, Hon said.
http://sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/dec/29/national-29-12-2009-00-004.htm

smile4kenn:

[size=13pt] “He is duly elected by the Nigerian electorate (and not appointed), hence cannot hold office at the behest or mercy of the President. Since he was elected by Nigerians, who are also paying him his emoluments, an unconstitutional result will be achieved if he is rendered lame duck or functional only as it pleases the President.[/size]“Even in ordinary parlance, the word, “Vice” means, “in place of” or, “in succession to” or in the “stead” of somebody…. So, in the place or stead of the President, the Vice President can lawfully act”, he said.

Oh, now he was elected by the Nigerian people Can we please make up our minds here?? Were the lot imposed on us or did we elect them, which one?

^^My sister which one you dey? Nah smile4kenn you dey ask abi nah the sun newspaper?

The question is for ALL Nigerians. This man is out there claiming the people elected these individuals yet the same people don't act like it. They rather cower like slaves, accepted and limiting themselves to what the so called elected allows them have.

I heard babaginda will be taking over

My big question is; If Jonathan can only assume the position of the Acting president and not the defaco president, who will be the defacto first lady?

Sorry wrong thread

Jonathan Badluck, another waste of time.

I digress:
Anytime i think of Goodluck Jonathan, I see Adegboye Onigbinde's sidon look face at the World cup