Elder statesman and leader of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Edwin Clark, has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent trip to the United Kingdom as disrespectful.
A State House report had said that the President was traveling to the United Kingdom for medical check-up.
The elder statesman said this, while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday
He queried the rationale behind the President’s failure to transmit power to the Vice President before leaving the shores of the country saying ” Nigeria belongs to all of us,we are not running a banana state. Buhari is taking Nigerians for a ride. He doesn’t have the right to jet out to London without handing over power to the Vice President in line with the constitution.could not run Nigeria from a foreign country.
Clarke who quoted relevant section of the constitution which states the transfer of power from the president to the vice in times of absence, attributed the reason for his failure to allow Osinbajo to act in his place to sheer arrogance.
The elder statesman who noted the frequency of the president’s travel for routine health check urged him to disclose the nature of ailment he is suffering from.
“Nigeria belongs to all of us, we are not running a banana state. Buhari is taking Nigerians for a ride. He doesn’t have the right to jet out to London without handing over power to the Vice President in line with the constitution.
“Nigeria is bleeding and only God knows how much of taxpayers money must have been spent by the President on his health. It is arrogance for Buhari to think he can govern Nigeria from abroad. He should hand over power to Osinbajo.
“What Section 145 says, is that the president shall transmit to the national assembly, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, whenever he will be away on medical vacation.
“And in his absence, the constitution empowers the vice president to act as the president. And the word shall is used there. Where does Mr. President get that one from? That one does not exist, except that’s another constitution.
“Overseeing of the affairs of the government as acting president is a must because the constitution used the word shall which is obligatory. And anything done outside it is unconstitutional and illegal.
“The president of Nigeria is constitutionally bound to inform Nigerians, of whatever ailment or disease he is suffering from and for which government money is being spent.”
Like he did in March and July this year, the President had departed for London, the United Kingdom on Monday for “routine medical check-up” and was supposed to return to the country in the second week of November, 2022.
