- Ex-President Jonathan should have mentioned the name of Yar’Adua ‘s aide who didn’t submit power transfer letter to NASS
In an interview with the Rainbow Book Club, former President Goodluck Jonathan recalled one of the chilling circumstances that surrounded the ill-health and subsequent death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, while he was the vice president. Because President Yar’Adua did not transmit a letter to the National Assembly that Jonathan would be the acting president while he went for medical treatment, in accordance with section 145(1) of the 1999 constitution, the nation was in a tailspin, until the National Assembly invented the doctrine of necessity, to stave off the catastrophe.
As stated by Jonathan in that interview, President Yar’Adua had actually written a letter to the National Assembly, but his aide responsible for delivering the letter, held on to it. If that claim is true, that person should have been investigated and charged to court at the earliest opportunity.
Even now, the former official deserves to be exposed, interrogated and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others who may be tempted to take steps that could plunge the nation into chaos.
It is most unfair that Nigerians do not know who did what in that dark period of our national history.
President Jonathan’s decision not to name the person in that interview is most intriguing. Could that be ascribed to cowardice or mere circumspection? Whatever may be his motive, we disagree with him. The nation deserves to know those who caused it such pain that threatened the fragile democracy we were practicing.
We hope Jonathan would write his memoirs, where all that he knows would be stated, so that if there are rebuttals, he would be in a position to react to such.
Thankfully, that sad incidence led to the addition of section 145(2), which provides that “In the event that the President is unable or fails to transmit the written declaration mentioned in subsection (1) of this section within 21 days, the National Assembly shall, by a resolution made by a simple majority of the vote of each House of the National Assembly, mandate the Vice President to perform the functions of the office of the President as Acting President until the President transmits a letter to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives that he is now available to resume his functions as President.”
We urge further constitutional amendments to uplift the office of the vice president as well as the deputy governor. While we do not advocate for competition between the principal office holder and the subordinate, there should be functions and responsibilities clearly earmarked for those subordinate offices.
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Because the vice president or deputy governor has no delineated functions, they are pejoratively referred to as ‘spare tyres’. In instances where the president or governor is vindictive, the vice president or deputy governor is made totally redundant.
Such attitude promotes the personalisation of the office of the president or governor, forgetting that both ran on a joint ticket to clinch their positions. We saw such shenanigans in Edo State where former Governor Godwin Obaseki hounded his deputy, Philip Shaibu, as if he was a sworn enemy forced on the ticket.
Those who benefit from such arrangement are non-elected state officials commonly referred to as cabals, who seize the president or governor and dictate to the rest of the people. We see such unconstitutional order across the three tiers of government.
The shameless disposition of some politicians who see power as an end in itself, instead of a means to serve, is at the root of such abuses. Considering that the constitution is a living document, every effort should be made to continually ensure that every loophole that makes our democracy ineffectual is plugged.
Efforts must be made to resist those who seek to exploit our laws for selfish ends.
