Senate, FEC decisions send conflicting signals

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Senate, FEC decisions send conflicting signals
28 January 2010, 2:17 am

Coming on the same day, the Federal Executive Council's decision that President Umaru Yar'Adua is fit to govern pits it against the Senate which yesterday directed the president to hand over to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan.The Senate resolution was commended by the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) called on the House of Representatives to follow suit. In a statement signed by Osita Okechukwu, its national publicity secretary, the umbrella group of registered political parties said it had "maintained that it is incongruous, unpatriotic and undemocratic for President Yar'Adua and his handlers to subordinate constitutional order under personal survival, in other words the survival of our fledgling democracy under self glorification and self service."It further asked "the handlers of Mr President and the pliable Federal Executive Council to place the interest of the corporative existence of Nigeria above petty and selfish concerns."Uche Onyeagocha, a former member of the House of Representatives and Action Congress governorship candidate in Imo State in 2007, in an interview with BusinessDay, said Nigerians should be ready to pick up arms to liberate the country because that appears to be the only way to save the country now. The FEC, Senate and all others are only pretending that they care about the country.A senator who asked for anonymity said Senate did not give a time frame because it did not want to box itself into a corner in case Yar'Adua fails to comply. Instead, it decided to toe the line of the Save Nigeria Group led by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka which called on the president to obey the constitution.Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo, echoed Onyeagocha's view, noting that both the Senate and FEC are distinct and have powers conferred on them by the constitution. He said the Senaate is lame duck on the matter the entire National Assembly may not be enthusiastic about the prospect of a Jonathan presidency. "This will force a change in power balance given the principle of geo-political spread in power. The only viable option is for the Nigerian people to take their destiny in their own hands through popular action," Keyamo said.In his reaction, Bamidele Aturu, a human rights activist, vowed to take FEC to court, saying that it lacked the power to take such a decision.Mike Tigene, a social commentator, said FEC placed personal interest above national interest.

Read more: Businessday :: News you can trust

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