The Senate has
passed a motion
asking the Vice
President, Dr.
Goodluck
Jonathan to act
as President And
Commander-In-Chief of the Armed forces
pending the return of President Umaru
Musa Yar’Adua.
The motion, backed by the majority of
Senate members, puts further pressure on
President Umaru Yar'Adua to formally
transfer powers but there is no provision
for such a move by the upper house of
parliament under the terms of the
constitution.
In arriving at this position, the Senate said
the President has fulfilled the provisions of
section 145 of the 1999 constitution
through his BBC telephone interview of
January the twelfth.
He said "the President through his call to the
BBC Hausa service had informed us of his
medical vacation and is therefore incapable
of running the affairs of the Nation in his
absence".
"The Vice President , shall henceforth
discharge the functions of the office of the
President, Commander In Chief of the Armed
Forces of the Federation, As Acting
President," the motion said.
The senate also passed a motion that the
Vice President shall seize to discharge the
functions of the president when the
president transmit a letter to the national
assembly that he has returned from medical
vacation.
Senate President, Senator David Mark while
addressing the House stressed the need for
the motion to be implemented based on the
situation surrounding the President's
absence. He said the decision had to be
taken because a lot of concerned Nigerians
have given them reason to resolve the
constitutional crisis the country is going
through.
The Senate President also seized the
opportunity to thank the Governors Forum
for backing the Senate, the Elders Forum,
Former President Yakubu Gowon, The Save
Nigeria Group Lead by Professor Wole
Soyinka and other concerned citizens who
lent their voices in the cry for the resolution
of the power vacuum in the Nation.
He also said that henceforth, the National
Assembly will receive correspondences and
communication from Vice President
Goodluck Jonathan as the Acting President.
Yar'Adua has been in Saudi Arabia for more
than two months receiving treatment for a
heart condition but has not formally
transferred power to Vice President
Jonathan, Political logjams and constitutional
crisis in the Nation.http://www.channelstv.com/newsdetails.php?news_id=16159

They do not have the power to do that, only the FEC does. they are just trying to lure Goodluck into illegality.

This is a good one for the country. On its own merit, I do not think it is sufficient to empower the Jonathan in a fool proof way as the acting president and commander in chief, there is the risk of litigation in whatsoever he does. However, I think it helps to ramp up the pressure on Yara'dua. The FEC is empowered by the Constitution to declare the president unfit to rule the nation, so the stakes are higher for them with  the resolution from the house. They will be under pressure to redeem their image and act in accordance with the wishes of Nigerians.

This saga is like a cloud of rain and i wonder where and when it will rain, and hope the flood from it will not drown too many

diptot:

This is a good one for the country. On its own merit, I do not think it is sufficient to empower the Jonathan in a fool proof way as the acting president and commander in chief, there is the risk of litigation in whatsoever he does. However, I think it helps to ramp up the pressure on Yara'dua. The FEC is empowered by the Constitution to declare the president unfit to rule the nation, so the stakes are higher for them with the resolution from the house. They will be under pressure to redeem their image and act in accordance with the wishes of Nigerians.

Dede1

Why do you think you need a new profile?

mikeansy:

Dede1

Why do you think you need a new profile?

Lol

They do not have the power to do that, only the FEC does. they are just trying to lure Goodluck into illegality.

, and am not sure this resolution is backed by the constitution.

mikeansy:

Dede1

Why do you think you need a new profile?

You should have known better than now. I had thought you were trained in legal issues and should be in better position to tell if all these political brouhahas about Nigerian presidency were constitutional. By the way, I had no reasons to change my profile because the political changes in the cesspit called Nigeria do not make my plate.

jomonic:

They do not have the power to do that, only the FEC does. they are just trying to lure Goodluck into illegality.

, and am not sure this resolution is backed by the constitution.

Knight1:

They do not have the power to do that, only the FEC does. they are just trying to lure Goodluck into illegality.

same fec that pledged undying loyalty to yaradua and shy away from their duties, ,i d i o t s

Knight1:

They do not have the power to do that, only the FEC does. they are just trying to lure Goodluck into illegality.

Thanks pal for your input. Many so-called Nigerians can read but lacked the comprehensive pedigree to understand due to self-indulgence in sectional sentiments or beclouded with ethnical bias. If Nigeria tends to grow democratically, it must strictly observe and adhere to the dictates of the constitution baring none.