by Anike Jacobs

And the allegations against President Goodluck Jonathan continue to thicken…

Members of the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly have stated 14 reasons why Goodluck Jonathan should be impeached.

A principal officer in the Senate told the Nation newspaper,  “We are embarking on signatures drive as I am talking to you. Senators are vetting the allegations before appending signatures. We have secured the consent of more than 63 senators who are expected to sign up in the next few days. And the senators are from both the PDP and the APC.”

We bring you the 14 reasons as listed in the impeachment notice below:

1. Top on the list of the allegations is the President’s refusal to sign 120 bills into law.
2. The President has not been able to curtail the Boko Haram insurgency
3. He has not been able to ensure the -release of the abducted 219 Chibok girls.
4. Alleged violation of the constitution/ Oath of Office
5. Failure to implement recommendations of panels/ committees
6. Setting up of ill-conceived, “nebulous” groups like TAN for re-election campaign outside the Electoral Act
7. Failure to establish and inaugurate the Nigeria Police Council
8. Illegal deployment of Armed Forces and sowing seed of hatred and turning one part of the country against the other.
9. The “weighty” allegations have forced some PDP senators to regroup against pro-impeachment ones.
10. The President as the Head of government has worked to undermine the effective performance of other arms of government, especially the legislature, by constantly frustrating peaceful and harmonious co-existence among other arms of government. In performing their constitutional responsibility of lawmaking, the legislature passes bills to be assented to by the President before they become laws of the federation. The President has consistently and consciously failed to sign bills and motions passed on to him by the parliament, thereby making the position of the legislative arm of government untenable. At the last count, the President has refused to assent to about 120 bills passed by the current National Assembly. He has not sent any communication as to their rejection as stipulated in Section 58 (1) (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Motions and other legislative instruments have suffered similar, if not worse, fate.
11. He is not doing enough to address the Boko Haram insurgency and communal conflicts. He has failed to ensure the protection of lives and properties.
12. The President has in an unprecedented manner reduced the Office of the President to an object of ridicule both locally and in the eyes of the international community, thereby reducing both the country and our hitherto respected Armed Forces into laughing stock. As we speak, over 200 of our female children have been abducted for over five months while some parts of our territorial space had been overtaken by the unrelenting insurgents. Yet, the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces has displayed acute sense of cluelessness on how to tackle the security challenges.
13. He has shown beyond all measure of doubt that he has neither the courage nor the sense of judgement to tackle the issue headlong.
14. He has abdicated his responsibility through the concession of waterways security and protection of oil installations to a private firm. The President as the Head of State is under obligation to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power as envisaged by Section 15 (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Since his assumption of office, corruption in Nigeria has assumed frightening proportion. For the first time in our history, corruption is almost elevated to a state craft where known corrupt Nigerians are either friends or employees of the government headed by the President.

You can read the full document in The Nation Newspaper.

Sola