Holding Jonathan hostage

For elites analysis.

When Nigeria's 36 state governors met with Acting President Goodluck Jonathan and told him to shelve all hope of becoming the substantive president, they were invariably paving the way for ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua's cronies, who are, at present, working very hard to capsize Mr. Jonathan's rather shaky leadership.
The decision of the Governors' Forum to affirm the power and position of Mr. Yar'Adua, who is believed to be critically ill and remains confined in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), was made in the effort to prevent what the governors have perceived as a regime that will ultimately be unfavourable to the enterprise of corruption, NEXT investigations show. While the governors would have Nigerians believe that their stance was a compassionate gesture in support of the first family, informed sources say that the governors' collective action was to protest three key decisions taken by Mr. Jonathan.
Firstly, the constitution of a Presidential Advisory Panel by the acting president without the involvement of the governors was an affront to the group and an attempt to hurt them, the governors claimed in their meeting with Mr. Jonathan at the State House Tuesday March 2.
A day earlier, Mr. Jonathan had set up a body to provide the presidency with input on policy making and good governance to be headed by Theophilus Danjuma with other eminent Nigerians as members. The fact that he had not sought the input of the governors on the membership of this committee apparently irked the governors.
Secondly, the members of the Forum claimed that the aides of the acting president, have in their speeches been boasting about the people that the new administration plans to ‘deal with'. Some governors, who have been perceived to be anti-Jonathan, have allegedly been earmarked for ‘punishment' by the Jonathan administration, the governors claim, pointing accusing fingers at Mr. Jonathan's chief press secretary, his chief of staff and some security aides as the perpetrators of these ‘threats'.
Thirdly, the acting president's allusion to anti-corruption is a major cause of concern for the governors who believe that they may soon become victims of Mr. Jonathan's probes.
"They claim that since the acting president assumed power, four out of the five major speeches that he has made have focused on corruption. Linked to this is also the claim that Jonathan is planning to bring in folks like Nuhu Ribadu into the system so they suggested that he should better be stopped now," a highly placed source in the presidency said to NEXT.
As a result, the governors allegedly decided to stop the acting president from assuming the position of a substantive president, thereby leaving him to continue in an office that has been the subject of critical legal debates. Lawyers and civil society groups continue to contend the constitutionality of the legislators' resolution that led to Mr. Jonathan's assumption of the office of acting president.
A popular Lagos based lawyer, Charles Musa insists that the Senate's resolution is illegal.
"What the Senate has done is not legal. The doctrine of necessity can only be invoked by courts not by a legislative body like the Senate or House of Representatives," Mr. Musa said in an interview last weekend.
This uncertainty; whether or not the process that led to the pronouncement of Mr. Jonathan as the acting president is in line with the Nigerian constitution, is the weakness upon which the Yar'Adua cabal will be making their case to unseat the acting president. In support of the cabal, the governors have carried out the duty of ensuring that the status quo remains while the pro-Yar'Adua elements solidify plans to challenge the constitutionality of the resolution that led to the pronouncement of Mr. Jonathan as the acting president.
Already, an Abuja based lawyer, Amobi Nzelu, who has allegedly been approached by the group for this purpose. Indications however are that Mr. Nzelu has turned down this offer.
The road blocks before Jonathan
The governor's forum is not the only road block to Mr Jonathan's ascension into the office of full presidency in the light of Mr Yar'Adua's critical ailment, analysts say.
"The governor's forum is just one obstacle. Another one is the cabal that have been in charge of the country since November last year. The other one, which is apparent to Nigerians is Jonathan's tentativeness to assert himself," a source said.
Mr. Jonathan must however defeat this formidable cabal, allegedly working in tandem with Turai Yar'Adua, the president's wife, if he must assume full powers of the presidency, sources insist.
"The cabal has become more effective in their game since the president came back to Nigeria. But you must realise the influence that the cabal holds. They were in the field, using the ‘recuperating' word as a weapon to influence the governors. They cornered the governor's forum and they helped to shape the governor's resolution in such a way that Goodluck Jonathan's presidency is on the edge," a source said to NEXT.
The governors, having acquired power during the Obasanjo regime to nominate ministers, exercised their undue influence on the Executive Council of the Federation, who on Wednesday, took the easy way out, refusing to tow the path of the constitution to declare the president medically unfit to continue ruling the country.
The unconstitutional Governor's Forum
It is not clear however, under what constitutional authority the governors' forum is working to influence the activities of the presidency. Lawyers say that the forum should have no say in the affairs of the presidency, and that the executive council must go ahead with decisions that will move the country forward.
"The governor's forum has no constitutional role in this matter. So the only way is either the president is impeached or the ministers will invoke section 144 saying that the president is incapacitated and set up a panel," Mr. Musa said.
Another Lagos based lawyer, Bamidele Aturu concurred with Mr. Musa.
"There is nothing like the governors forum under our constitution. The governors' forum is not known to our constitution. You will not find any section that refers to the governors' forum. It is just a creation of our elites based on their penchant for copying whatever is done in America. Because they have a governors' forum in the US, they too must have a governors' forum here," Mr. Aturu said adding that the forum is being used to support illegality and is thereby sabotaging the country‘s democracy.
"You will not find a governors forum in the US being used to thwart constitutional principles and good order of society. My view is that if it is true that the governors forum is trying to support the illegality of President Yar'Adua not transmitting a written declaration to the National Assembly that he is incapable of continuing or discharging the functions of his office as required by section 145, then the governors forum is acting in sabotage of the peace and good order of this country, because the presidents refusal to comply with section 145 is clearly an impeachable offence."
The lonely man
No matter how legal or illegal the activities of the cabal or the governors' forum may be, Mr. Jonathan is finding the shaky state of affairs in the presidency highly uncomfortable, sources reveal.
With a boss who is believed to be so critically ill that his body weight is said to be less than 38kg, and who has not been sighted for more than 100 days; a cohort of power thirsty presidential aides; a clique of at least 3 members of the first family grappling for presidential powers; and a northern forum determined to retain the presidency, Mr. Jonathan has seen more than enough power struggles within his fragile leadership.
To worsen matters for the reluctant leader who is now receiving so much opposition from the north, he has received no real support from his brothers in the south. Mr. Jonathan currently enjoys support from just four out the country's 36 governors; Cross River's Liyel Imoke, Edo's Adams Oshiomhole, Niger's Muazu Babangida Aliyu and Jigawa's Sule Lamido, may be the acting president's only allies in the governor's forum.
Source : http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Nex...-147/story.csp


Attachment 62

Too long to get,anywhere its obvious Goodluck is going 2 be sworn in as President coz Yaradua may never be fit.

Nothing,but nothing, will pass its appointed TIME.

Be that as it may,all I know jonathan is a lucky guy,fear the man that has the gods by his side.
he never think of becoming a governor,he became.
He never dream of beeing the vice president,he became.
He never think of becoming an acting president,He bacame.
judge the rest for yourself.

What do we have to say again? We've said all, Roland