According to Rep. Mohammed Tahir Monguno, President Goodluck Jonathan is to be served with impeachment notice when the House of Representatives reconvene on Wednesday.
Senators and members of the House of Representatives had commenced collecting signatures for the removal of the president after the November 20 security siege on the National Assembly. During the siege, the speaker of the House Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and other lawmakers were teargased by the
police.
House members began collecting signatures that same day while senators followed suit two days after. And already, 200 members and about 60 senators were said to have thrown their weight behind moves to oust the president.
Monguno, a former Attorney General of Borno State told Sunday Trustthat he was one of the 200 members who signed the impeachment motion on November 20, saying, “some newspapers published names of those who signed the motion but my name was conspicuously omitted.” Arguing that president Jonathan had no reason to remain in office anymore having failed to protect Nigerians against Boko Haram insurgents, Monguno said:
“The federal government led by President Goodluck Jonathan has woefully failed to discharge these responsibilities. The government which is solely responsible for the security of the people has failed to protect the lives and property of my constituents.
For five years now there have been consistent Boko Haram attacks in various parts of my constituency leading to the displacement of a whole local government in the constituency. Jonathan has woefully failed to provide for the security and welfare of my constituents that was why I signed the motion to oust him.”The lawmakers further accused the Jonathan administration of “monumental” corruption, saying, “for any development to take place there is the need for dividends of democracy to reach the people but because of the monumental corruption that has characterized this government, development is no longer reaching the people at the grass root and the federal government has clearly demonstrated lack of capacity to fight corruption. The executive arm of government led by President Jonathan is a massive failure.
Of all the alleged constitutional breaches by the president, Monguno said the security siege on national assembly was the final stroke that broke the camel’s back hence, the move to impeach Jonathan.
“We need only one third of the members of the House to serve the president impeachment notice and so far we have got far more than that so as we resume the motion will be formally tabled for the president to be notified. It is only the removal that requires two third. When we reconvene on December 3rd the president will be served impeachment notice,” he explained.
FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS ATTACK MADUGURI AGAIN
Two explosions ripped through a market in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Monday, witnesses said, nearly a week after two female suicide bombers attacked the same area, killing more than 45 people.
“A middle-aged woman approached the site where chicken sellers attend to customers but vigilantes who stood nearby insisted on checking the luggage she was carrying,” said witness Ahmad Sanusi.
“The woman refused, arguing that what she held were her wares. While the argument ensued, some people gathered at the scene and that was when she detonated the explosive,” he told AFP.
The Monday Market was hit last Tuesday by two women who detonated explosives hidden under their hijabs. The same market was attacked on July 1 and at least 15 people died.
A police bomb squad on Friday defused a suspected remote-controlled improvised explosive device buried in the dirt near another market in Maiduguri.
Boko Haram militants were suspected and it was thought the bomb was intended to hit worshippers at a local mosque. Two suspected female suicide bombers were arrested in Maiduguri last week.
It was not immediately clear whether the woman in Monday’s incident was a suicide bomber or if she was merely carrying explosives hidden in her luggage.
But another witness, Goni Abba, reported a second explosion just seconds after the first. Nearby buildings were destroyed and there were reports of deaths and injuries, he added.
There was no immediate official confirmation of fatalities but the police, army and Red Cross were at the scene.
Another local resident who was in the area at the time said: “I was at the Borno state television station, which is just opposite the Monday Market, to see a friend.
“I heard an explosion and we were told that it happened at the market. I’m now in his office because it’s not safe to venture outside,” said the resident, who asked not to be identified.
The blasts happened as Boko Haram fighters launched a dawn raid on the capital of neighbouring Yobe state, Damaturu, apparently targeting the police.
TINIBU, FASHOLA CLASH OVER APC GUBER PRIMARIES IN LAGOS
According to Punch newspaper report online, Tinubu was said to
be angry with the Lagos State Governor as a result of the latter’s
conduct before and during the just concluded APC governorship primary in the state.
It was disclosed that Tinubu became angry when Fashola initially told him that he did not have a particular candidate for the APC primary only to emerge much later with a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Olasupo Shahore, as his preferred candidIDATE
It was disclosed that Tinubu became angry when Fashola initially told him that he did not have a particular candidate for the APC primary only to emerge much later with a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Olasupo Shahore, as his preferred candidIDATE
A source close to Tinubu informed that the APC chieftain was not only angry with Fashola, but was “disappointed in him.”
He stated that the Fashola had a right to have a candidate but what Tinubu wanted was to know his mind.
“But Fashola kept Tinubu guessing. He told him he did not have a candidate. Though there were signs and media reports that he was backing someone, but Tinubu could not be relying on media reports about the governor in a situation like this.
“In fact, Asiwaju told him that he had a candidate and sought the governor’s support for him. The governor said he had no candidate only for him to emerge with a candidate in the last minute. Asiwaju did not know where the governor stood.
“I believe with the outcome of the primary, the governor will have enough time to reflect,” the source said.
He stated that the Fashola had a right to have a candidate but what Tinubu wanted was to know his mind.
“But Fashola kept Tinubu guessing. He told him he did not have a candidate. Though there were signs and media reports that he was backing someone, but Tinubu could not be relying on media reports about the governor in a situation like this.
“In fact, Asiwaju told him that he had a candidate and sought the governor’s support for him. The governor said he had no candidate only for him to emerge with a candidate in the last minute. Asiwaju did not know where the governor stood.
“I believe with the outcome of the primary, the governor will have enough time to reflect,” the source said.
In a related development, reports say that there is a crack in
the wall of the camp of disgruntled governorship aspirants as their
voices were no longer united on their next action.
It was learnt that some of the defeated aspirants were already working on how to get themselves back into Tinubu’s good books.
The aspirants had earlier scheduled a press conference in Lagos on Thursday night immediately after the end of voting at the primary but the press conference was called off and rescheduled for Friday.
The conference was to hold at Protea Hotel, Lagos. But the meeting was called off again as none of the aspirants showed up as journalists waited for hours in vain on Friday.
But party sources said many of the aspirants had begun to court Tinubu afresh following their defeat at the primary.
One of the sources said, “There is nothing like association of aspirants. Now that a candidate has emerged, everybody is trying to realign. The primary has succeeded in separating the boys from the men.
“One of the governorship aspirants, Obafemi Hamzat, has to separate himself from the boys because he cannot be seen to be championing the cause of the boys,” the source said.
It was learnt that some of the defeated aspirants were already working on how to get themselves back into Tinubu’s good books.
The aspirants had earlier scheduled a press conference in Lagos on Thursday night immediately after the end of voting at the primary but the press conference was called off and rescheduled for Friday.
The conference was to hold at Protea Hotel, Lagos. But the meeting was called off again as none of the aspirants showed up as journalists waited for hours in vain on Friday.
But party sources said many of the aspirants had begun to court Tinubu afresh following their defeat at the primary.
One of the sources said, “There is nothing like association of aspirants. Now that a candidate has emerged, everybody is trying to realign. The primary has succeeded in separating the boys from the men.
“One of the governorship aspirants, Obafemi Hamzat, has to separate himself from the boys because he cannot be seen to be championing the cause of the boys,” the source said.
