The minority caucus in the National Assembly is billed to commence actions against the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as lawmakers resume from Sallah break on Tuesday, The PUNCH has learnt.
The opposition lawmakers, who are majorly of the Peoples Democratic Party, are in the final stages in the move against Buhari over his alleged leadership failures.
A prominent member of the caucus in the House of Representatives told our correspondent on Friday that the lawmakers would strike at a “critical” time.
The lawmakers in the minority are compiling the President’s alleged infractions, which they would use against him at the appropriate time.
The member of the House from the South-South geopolitical zone, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated that Nigerians already knew what Buhari’s offences were.
He said, “We are still compiling the list; there is no need to let the details out at this stage. We have not compiled all. And they (offences) are very obvious that even he knows.”
When asked about the actions to be taken against the President, the lawmaker said, “I won’t disclose that. We have mentioned a bit of it. We are waiting for the critical time to take the action.”
The caucus had on May 5, 2021, threatened to use its legislative powers to move against the President should he continue to breach the Constitution.
The Minority Leader of Senate and leader of the caucus, Enyinnaya Abaribe, after a closed-door meeting, had said the opposition lawmakers were saddened that Buhari had failed to guarantee the security and welfare of Nigerians, which he described as the primary purpose of government.
The caucus also expressed disappointment that the current regime had mismanaged the economy to the point of near collapse.
This, Abaribe said, should not be allowed to continue.
Speaking to our correspondent, the House member alleged that members of the ruling All Progressives Congress were also lamenting the crises in the country.
“But when we want to talk (criticise the regime), they will say no; they will be defending Buhari. They should wait longer. Remember the Kwara State Governor (AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq); imagine the backlash that followed when he tried to defend Buhari,” he added.
Meanwhile, some members of the PDP caucus in the House have denied knowledge of the threats against Buhari.
Several of them, who were contacted by our correspondent, said they were neither at the caucus meeting nor at the press conference that followed.
Others, however, kept mum on their plans.
A ranking member of the House from Delta State, Nicholas Ossai, said, “Please, my brother, I’m not in the know of the above issues. Please remain safe in Jesus Christ’ name. Amen.”
Another ranking member from Osun State, Oluwole Oke, dismissed the threat by his caucus.
Another member from Rivers State, Solomon Bob, said, “I’m not yet briefed on the meeting because I was unavoidably absent.”
However, Mr Onofiok Luke from Akwa Ibom said only the leadership of the caucus should speak on the matter.
When contacted to react to the threat, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, asked the opposition lawmakers to instead approach the Houses of Assembly of their respective states to move against the governors.
“Press briefing is different from parliamentary debate; we are prepared and waiting for their presentation after the compilation you referred to. This is not really the time to play to the gallery,” he added.
Copyright PUNCH.
