Michael Aondoakaa, the Federal Attorney General and Justice Minister on Monday wrote to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to function as President, in place of Umaru Yar’Adua, who was flown to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment exactly a month today. He advised Jonathan in the letter to sign the N353.6 billion 2009 supplementary budget the National Assembly (NASS) passed on November 23, the day Yar’Adua left the country.
COMMENT: Is this not the same Aondoakaa who was quoted recently as saying that, the President can rule the country from any part of the globe, that he doesn’t necessarily need to be in Nigeria to rule Nigeria (emphasis, mine). Why has he suddenly turned around to ask the Vice President to sign a bill meant for the President’s signature when he (the V.P.) is not the Acting President? What has changed in Aondoakaa’s legal eyes? This Aondoakaa of a man is indeed a dunce! – Reuben Okala, Read more of this Below
Daily Independent: Aondoakaa had argued last week that Jonathan and any Minister can act on behalf of Yar’Adua, relying on Section 5 of the Constitution which confers on the President powers to delegate authority.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was still insisting by last Sunday that there is no succession plan either for Yar’Adua or Jonathan, and it was not known at press time what the party makes of the latest development.
Daily Independent reliably gathered that the letter which was written by Aondoakaa on Monday was delivered to Jonathan the same day.
Aondoakaa predicated his action on the invocation of Section 5 of the Constitution, which he says overrides Section 145 in the event that Yar’Adua did not transmit a formal letter about his absence to the NASS.
However, at the weekend, the House of Representatives accused Aondoakaa of misinterpreting the Constitution by saying that Yar’Adua does not need to communicate to the legislature if he is incapacitated in order to allow Jonathan to function as President.
But the dust raised about the assumption of office by Aloysius Katsina-Alu as Chief Justice (CJ) seems to have been resolved with relative ease.
Aondoakaa, in his letter to Jonathan, advised that Katsina-Alu should be given a formal letter acknowledging his confirmation by the Senate, and urging him to mount the saddle on December 31.
He said the Constitution does not require him to be formally sworn in.
He also advised that Justice Ayo Salami should become the President of the Court of Appeal, without a formal swearing in, in place of Justice Umaru Abdullahi, who has retired.
Last Wednesday, the Senate screened and confirmed Katsina-Alu as Idris Kutigi’s successor.
“There is nowhere in the Constitution where it is stated that it is mandatory for the President to perform the swearing in ceremony of the Chief Justice.
“What has been happening is a convention carried over from the military era. It is not Constitutional,” Aondoakaa reportedly argued in the letter.
The Senate had insisted on Sunday that the convention must be followed.
“There is a convention that is adhered to. (Yar’Adua) administered the oath of office on Kutigi, and we expect that convention to be followed by the same administration.
“We are not being carried along; we have no idea of what the executive arm of government wants to do concerning Section 5 of the Constitution,” a Senator stated.
Asked why the Senate is on “stand-by,” he replied: “We are on stand-by if (Yar’Adua) decides that he is not able to continue in office and wants to communicate that to the (NASS).
“Whatever decision is to be made would have to be made with the active input of the Senate. That is why we are still in Abuja, on stand-by.
“If we get that communication that he cannot go on anymore, then we’ll be able to invoke the necessary Sections of the Constitution to that effect.”
But a source in Abuja riposted: “It is not true that the Senators are on stand-by for patriotic reasons.
“They are waiting solely for pecuniary reasons. They are waiting for the supplementary budget to be signed into law so that they can share the money for Christmas.”
Senate Spokesman, Ayogu Eze, had earlier disclosed on Sunday that, despite being on holiday till January 12, the Upper House is on stand-by in case its attention is needed on any urgent national matter.
Without Presidential assent, government business has ground to a halt in Abuja.
For examples, N200 billion voted for the post-amnesty programme in the Niger Delta is trapped in the supplementary budget, and funds for the capital projects of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) are tied down.
The Senate has denied receipt of any letter on the vacation of Yar’Adua, and the House warned last Friday that it may invoke Section 58 (5) of the Constitution which empowers two-thirds of lawmakers to override his veto on a Bill passed.
The Section stipulates that, “Where the President withholds his assent and the Bill is again passed by each House by two-thirds majority, the Bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.”
But some Senators who did not want to be named said the Upper Chamber is not “aware of any intent to invoke the veto power of the National Assembly on the money Bill.
“That we have said the Senate is on stand-by is not to come back and invoke Section 58 (5).”
However, Eze reiterated that the Senate does not possess any vacation letter from Yar’Adua.
“If anything happens that requires our coming back from recess, of course, there would be no problem,” he said.
On the status of the supplementary budget against the backdrop of today’s Constitutional deadline, Eze explained: “Well, why don’t you wait for December 23 to come; why don’t you wait for us to get there, because right now, we don’t have a confirmation that he has not signed the Bill.”
Yar’Adua is outside the country, but he didn’t transfer power, Eze acknowledged.
“In effect, he is still the President.”
But there were indications last weekend that in the spirit of Section 5, Jonathan functioning as the President may sign the supplementary budget into law.
However, House members are unhappy with the statement by Aondoakaa that Yar’Adua does not need to communicate to the legislature if he is incapacitated in order to allow Jonathan to act on his behalf.
Section 145 of the Constitution mandates the President to communicate to the NASS in the event that he is incapacitated to discharge his duties, or he is proceeding on leave.
House Ethics and Privileges Committee Deputy Chairman, John Kalipa (PDP, Rivers), argued on Sunday that it will be a misinterpretation of the law if Aondoakaa claims that it is not obligatory for Yar’Adua to write the NASS before his Deputy could be empowered to act on his behalf.
“The Vice President cannot, as it is now, command the Armed Forces or ask the nation to go to war if there is need to do so.
“He (Jonathan) is not the Commander in Chief, and cannot claim to be. These are some of the limitations he has. The Constitution must be followed to the letter,” insisted Kalipa, a lawyer.
The acting Chairman of the House Privatisation and Commercialication Committee, Abass Braimah (PDP, Edo), also urged Aondoakaa to allow the Constitution to guide his actions.
“What does he take us for? They must always put the face of the Constitution in all that they do. Those in government should always protect the law and do the right thing at all times,” he stressed.
There are certain Constitutional steps to follow, and they must be followed, Braimah added, as regards the Vice President’s duties and actions in the absence of the President.
“We will not condone any form of illegality, misinterpretation of the law, and any form of flagrant disregard for Constitutionality.”
However, the PDP denied any succession plan either for Yar’Adua or Jonathan, in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Rufai Alkali.
He blamed the opposition for the report, which “is baseless, uninformed, and mischievous as the PDP leadership is not aware of, neither is it involved in, any so called succession plan in whatever form or guise.”
He restated the resolve of the PDP to continue its support for the government led by Yar’Adua and Jonathan.
___________________________________________________________________________________
COMMENT
Ladies & Gentlemen, Is this not the same Aondoakaa who was quoted recently as saying that, the President can rule the country from any part of the globe, that he doesn’t necessarily need to be in Nigeria to rule Nigeria (emphasis, mine). Why has he suddenly turned around to ask the Vice President to sign a bill meant for the President’s signature when he (the V.P.) is not the Acting President? What has
changed in Aondoakaa’s legal eyes? This Aondoakaa of a man is indeed a dunce!
It’s either he knows nothing about the profession to which he claims to be an expert, or he is simply irredeemably intoxicated and mesmerised by selfishness and corruption that he has become too pathologically blinded to know the right button to press in his portfolio when the occasion demands. Shame!
For how long would Michael Aondoakaa embarrass Nigeria before we realise that the man is corrosively inept? For goodness sake, Michael Aondoakaa should go!
I can hear a voice out there asking how?
Simple! He should be given the boot by the National Assembly for incompetence and non-performance, via a simple motion by one of the Honourable members of the House. Michael Aondoakaa should be relieved of his post before he does irreparable damage to Nigeria’s justice system. Let’s not forget that whoever takes over from him may want to follow his set precedent before carving his own
niche. Michael Aondoakaa is simply unfit! So, the earlier he goes, the better for the country!
Listen to this: “Aondoakaa had argued last week that Jonathan and any Minister can act on behalf of Yar’Adua, relying on Section 5 of the Constitution which confers on the President powers to delegate authority.”
Whilst the Constitution is talking about a president in active service in Abuja, who, for one reason or the other, may not be disposed to personally attend an event within or without Nigeria, in which case he may delegate his authority to either the VP and/or a minister to act on his behalf, Mr. Aodoakaa is wrongly, selfishly and corruptly applying that section of the Constitution on this occasion. Foul!
Let me draw the attention of Mr. Aondoakaa that the situation at hand is that of a president, who has gone on vacation for a good reason (in the case of Yar’Adua, for medical reasons), and he is not actively carrying out his duties in Abuja as should ordinarily be the case. In this case there is nothing like delegating power to a minister. Only, and only section 145 of the Constitution should apply in this case.
Let me excerpt it for him once again:
145. Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.
Perhaps Michael Aondoakaa is positioning himself to benefit from a delegated authority from the President to act as the nation’s president at this time of uncalled-for crisis. Sorry, Sir, but the Constitution is very clear. There is just no way you can act on behalf of the President on this occasion if that’s what you are scheming in your mind.
Bottom-line:
1). Yar’Adua should temporarily hand over to Jonathan, to act on his behalf, and to take back the power from Jonathan when he considers himself fit to carry out the duties of his office, in accordance with the Constitution.
2). Jonathan should be immediately sworn-in in the event the president becomes incapacitated (God forbid), and can no longer physically and mentally perform the duties of his office, in accordance with the Constitution.
3). Until either of the above takes place, Jonathan should NOT make the mistake of signing the approved budget as that would be illegal in all its ramifications, and could lead him to a coup de sac.
I hope that’s not the plan Michael Aondoakaa has for him.
Emeka Reuben Okala
London, UK