Senate Set to Confirm Jonathan Acting President
The Senate is likely to confirm Vice President Goodluck Jonathan acting President in a matter of days, to put to rest the hullabaloo President Umaru Yar'Adua stoked by ignoring to write to the legislature on his medical vacation.
Senators would play host to the Governors' Forum this week, after which a motion to make Jonathan acting President would be moved, it was learnt on Sunday.
A ranking Senator from the South South, who heads a Grade A Committee, is expected to move the motion, which has already been okayed by Senate President David Mark and others in the leadership.
The decision to confirm Jonathan acting President was reached on January 28 when Senators met with the Eminent Elders Group (EEG) comprising, among others, former Presidents, Heads of State and three former Chief Justices (CJs).
The demand by the EEG on that day that Jonathan be made acting President was the defining moment in the call for Yar'Adua to "toe the path of honour" - as had been canvassed on January 21 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Information and Communications Minister, Dora Akunyili, piled on the pressure when she broke ranks with the cabinet on February 3 to make the same point that Yar'Adua should transfer full power to Jonathan.
A source present at the meeting Senators held with the EEG on January 28 told Daily Independent that after the EEG handed its letter to Mark, the meeting went into a closed door session where one of the former CJs suggested to lawmakers the way out of the logjam.
"The retired CJ said there is something called 'presumption of regularity in law' and that the Senate can explore that loophole to declare Jonathan acting President, whether Yar'Adua transmits a letter or not.
"Presumption of regularity in law, as it was explained to us, means, 'that which ought to be done but was not done would be presumed in law to have been done.'"
"In fact, Senators were told that they would not be flouting the Constitution or Section 145 for that matter if they recognise and confirm Jonathan acting President," the source recounted.
The former CJ reportedly told the legislators that they can presume that Yar'Adua has transmitted a letter to the NASS, even without receiving such correspondence.
With the legal knot out of the way, Senators would meet with the Governors' Forum this week after which a motion on Jonathan's Presidency would be moved at plenary.
A Senator from the North Central explained on Sunday that lawmakers "would meet with the Governors first before making up our minds on how to go about it because we are conscious of what would happen thereafter.
"We also have to consider our action against the lukewarm attitude of the House of Representatives on the matter. Our meeting with the Governors' Forum would definitely influence what will come up in the Chamber."
However, the fear of a revised zoning formula among NASS Principal Officers and the leadership of the PDP may have informed the opposition to Jonathan as acting President.
If he gets the job, the zoning automatically changes, leading to current office holders losing their plum positions.
In the PDP, if a Southerner becomes President, or if Yar'Adua can no longer continue in office, the zoning has to be reworked.
It will affect the top shots in the Senate, the House, and the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC).
The PDP National Chairmanship, currently occupied by the South, will move up North, as was the case in the Olusegun Obasanjo years.
Besides, the North will have to pick between the posts of Senate President and House Speaker.
Meanwhile, the Northern Governors' Forum (NGF) Chairman, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, noted in Minna at the wekend that, "Akunyili was right, because speaking out will save Nigerians and the country from further embarrassment.
"Many Nigerians share the views of Akunyili but who will speak out? And if she fails to speak out as government mouth piece who then will do it for us? We cannot continue to remain the way we are, we must move on."
Today, Yar'Adua has been absent from the country for 77 days, and other worried Ministers are said to be planning to join Akunyili at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday.
One of them confided at the weekend that, "February 10, 2010 is the day to resolve or dissolve, as we will insist that power be handed over to (Jonathan) to stem the tide of polarisation and drift in the country.
"Our hard earned reputation, character, ethical standing, and moral uprightness are being questioned by this conspiracy of silence. What Dora did was courageous though boorish in approach and self-serving. We shall all back her for the good of our country."
He said it is not about the lack of courage or hanging unto the Ministerial jobs that made the FEC members subservient; it is just appropriate to respect and expect leadership from the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) and Board of Trustees (BoT) "as any disagreement within the FEC or the (NASS) leadership would make the country prostate."
Each person will stand and be counted and answer his or her father's name, the source, maintained, and "it must be stated that it is no longer a 'group thing.'"
The agitating Ministers cut across tribe and religion, and they are insisting that apart from transferring power to Jonathan, they must be updated on Yar'Adua's health on a weekly basis until matters are positively resolved.
"This Wednesday will mark the beginning of the real drama to save our beloved country."
Last week, the Governors' Forum resolved to "meet the leadership of the (NASS) with a view to urging them to pass a resolution to formally recognise (Jonathan) as acting President in the interest of the nation."
At the weekend, the Conference of Speakers of Houses of Assembly added its voice to the demand.
The South West Vice President of the Conference, Osun State House of Assembly Speaker, Adejare Bello, told reporters in Abuja after a meeting of the Speakers that "The Conference felt that the call is in the interest of the corporate image of Nigeria that (Jonathan) be officially recognised as acting President."
Source;Todays's Daily Independent
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Originally Posted by Maaik
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