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ON THE DECISION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO SUMMON PMB


The decision of the House of Representatives to summon PMB over the increasingly  unprecedented state of insecurity in the country is highly commendable, even though it falls below expectation. When the failure of the Federal Government in guaranteeing security of life is considered along equally unprecedented economic agony to which ordinary people have been subjected, the APC/PMB led Federal Government has totally failed and it is no longer fit to continue to Rule, particularly at the backdrop of the two constitutional measures for assessing the performance of a government in power,  which are security and welfare of the people, stipulated to be the primary purpose of government, in section 14(2)(b) of the country's Written Constitution.

In the context of flagrant violation of section 80(2) of the Constitution, which prohibits withdrawal of public money except as appropriated by the National Assembly, PMB has withdrawn one billion dollars for the so called fight against Boko Haram insurgency and four hundred and sixty two (462) million dollars for the purchase of aircraft, all without authorisation by the National Assembly. These are clear gross violations of the Constitution, which reflects a regime that treats another equal arm of Government with contempt just as it disobeys court orders for the release of Elzakzakky who has been in detention without trial for over two years now.
It is therefore expected that the National Assembly would take a step further, in safeguarding the sanctity of the Constitution and invoke section 143 of the Constitution, which permits removal of the President on account of violation of the Constitution.
In the past, military intervention had been justified on the grounds of corruption, non-payment of wages, high cost of living, hospitals that have become mere consulting clinics, collapse of education system, and so on. The situation today in the country is worse than at any time in the history of this country when military coups occurred. As we are opposed to unconstitutional and undemocratic military take-over of Government, we call on the National Assembly to constitutionally remove PMB from power in order to safeguard the continued existence of Nigeria as one united country and put in check the increasingly dangerous polarisation of the society on lines of ethnic and religious divides, based on uncontrolled genocides occurring all over the country. The future of Nigeria would be imperiled where constitutionally prescribed modes of effecting changes are blocked. Heating the polity within the constitutional frame work is far, far better than the gradual but steady collapse of Nigeria's constitutional democracy in the context of governance by violation of the constitution.
26th April 2018.

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