The leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the immediate impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari for “violating his oath of office”.
The party also called for proper investigation and prosecution of the sacked Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal and the ex-Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Ayodele Oke.
A statement Monday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, accused Buhari of double standard in the anti-corruption war by shielding his aides and associates from prosecution while haunting opposition figure over alleged corruption.
Describing the mere sacking of Babachir and Oke as a slap on the faces of Nigerians, the PDP insisted that they be handed off to the existing anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution the same way members of the opposition are being treated.
The PDP said, “It is an insult on the-collective intelligence of our people who have waited patiently for the President’s reaction on the humongous act of corruption by two of his principal aides and this is totally unacceptable.
“First and foremost, we had disagreed with the President last year when he decided to setup the panel headed by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to investigate the matter because we thought that was the wrong course of action to take.
“Ordinarily, cases of corruption or alleged cases of misappropriation of funds are supposed to be referred to institutions that are saddled with the responsibility to investigate and prosecute such matters, which is the ICPC and the EFCC if there is any prima facie case against them.
“But it appears not all animals are equal under the Buhari APC administration. Some people are treated with kid gloves while others, particularly those in opposition are subjected to all manner of harrowing experiences.
“One of the senators of the APC, Senator Shehu Sani of Kaduna State, succinctly put the matter when he said that this administration uses deodorant to fight corruption when it comes to some APC members and President Buhari’s kitchen cabinet, but uses insecticides when it involves members of the opposition and those in the National Assembly”.
The opposition party wondered why it took the President almost one year to attend to the two cases while the culprits were having a field day at home and enjoying themselves.
“Whereas, in the case of the opposition, especially PDP members, even when the evidence is flimsy, they will be visited with multiple harassment and intimidation for months and weeks without proper trial.
“We cite the case of Sambo Dasuki who has been in detention for over two years even when many courts in Nigeria and the ECOWAS Court have ordered his release, the President has fragrantly disobeyed these court orders which again are a violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This is an impeachable offence. So the President cannot just sack Ayo Oke and Babachir Lawal and expects us to be clapping for him.
“We believe that we are operating under a democracy and a Constitution that governs our affairs. To have subjected these people to different sets of rule and treatment is totally unacceptable.
“Nigerians are the same under the law and Babachir Lawal and Ayo Oke should not be tried by the Presidency while others are hounded by the EFCC and ICPC.
“These actions of Mr. President are therefore a breach of his oath of office, which he swore to defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to be fair and just to all Nigerians without any discrimination whatsoever.
“The action of the President is a gross violation of his constitutional oath and therefore constitutes a veritable ground for impeachment Using and applying different laws to different people in the country is a direct assault on the constitution and the rule of law .
“Consequently, we call on the National Assembly to begin processes to impeach the President for breach of the Constitution and fragrance disobedience to the laws of Nigeria.
“We totally reject these actions and the law should follow its full course on the issues of these officers. In other words, their case should be referred to the EFCC for proper investigation and trial, more so when the President has not told us what the report of the findings was”, the statement added.
The party argued that Nigerians have the right to know the findings of the Osinbajo panel that investigated Babachir and Oke and insisted that the report should be made public since it is the people’s money that is involved.
“The President has by his actions taken Nigeria to the level of a banana republic. We are not in a banana republic. This is the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Three successive governments of the PDP did not act in the manner President Buhari is acting.
“There is no doubt that the sudden sack of the SGF and the DG of NIA is just a consequence of the backlash on the Abdulrasheed Maina saga.
“Up till now, there’s no answer to the pertinent questions we have asked on the Maina saga. The government cares less about the feelings and opinions of Nigerians. This kind of arrogance is unprecedented in the history of this county.
“We again call for the arrest and investigation of the two Ministers involved in the return of Maina into the civil service, that is, the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau and Abubakar Mallami, the Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice”, the party concluded.
