The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina has scolded some senators who tried to impeach the president on Wednesday. His action, watchers of the Presidency say represents the mood in the Aso Rock, Nigeria’s seat of power as Buhari faces a barrage of criticism from angry Nigerians who said the president has failed as Commander-in-Chief amidst rising insecurity in the country.
The magazine had reported that some senators led by Minority Leader, Phillip Aduda had walked out from the chamber during Plenary after Senate President Ahmad Lawan stopped them from raising a motion of impeachment against President Buhari over worsening insecurity in the country. The senators later addressed journalists where they issued a six week ultimatum to Buhari to resolved the security situation.
The senators, it was learnt had been angered by the killing of some soldiers in the Presidential Brigade of Guards on Monday by some terrorists.
The All Progressives Congress, APC dominated Senate had since adjourned for seven weeks, a development close watchers of the National Assembly described as a deft move by the Senate leadership to avert a break down of law and order in the red chamber amidst a bipartisan call by senators for Buhari to be removed from office.
“The leadership of our great party is trying to intervene in the matter before it gets out of hand. It will be an embarrassment for President Buhari to be impeached by and APC controlled National Assembly. The matter will be resolved in due course before the senators resumes in September,” an APC stalwart who was not authorized to speak on the issue said on Wednesday.
But the Presidency seemed not to be taking the matter lightly.
Speaking on Channels TV few hours after the Senate adjourned, Adesina said the senators were jokers looking for cheap publicity, adding that the lawmakers are wasting their time in trying to impeach the president.
He said many senators will not have Buhari impeached, noting that those that want the president to be removed from office are in the minority “who will always have its say while majority have its way.”
According to him, “The truth is that in this kind of scenario, minority will always have its say while the majority will have its way. You know the configuration of the national assembly. Those who spoke today are the minority of minorities.
“They would have their say as it is needful in a democracy, but it won’t go beyond that. I think it was just bravado and very sadly, security is not something you subject to bravado.
“You don’t begin to issue flippant ultimatums in something that is a matter of life and death.
“They know in their heart of hearts that they cannot achieve what they are saying. They are just wasting the country’s time, wasting the time of the upper chamber of the national assembly; they know that they cannot achieve it.”
Sources however informed the magazine that what happened at the Senate chamber early today rattled top presidency officials, who were surprised that some APC senators were part of the plot to impeach President Buhari.
A source said the party ‘will not punish the APC senators who joined the PDP senators for their action, because we believe that their action was based on current public mood in the face of the security situation in the country. All of us are affected.
“What the party is trying to do is to seek the senators understanding and cooperation to tackle the problem. Any wrong move at the moment could plunge the country into serious crisis more than we already have.”
