Inibehe Effiong, Lagos based
human rights lawyer, has filed a suit against President Muhammadu Buhari over
his recent private visit to the UK.
In the suit with number
FHC/L/CS/763/2019 filed at the federal high court in Lagos on Thursday, Buhari
and Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation are listed as the first
and second defendants.
Femi Adesina, a presidential
spokesman, has announced on April 25, that the president was leaving for the UK
on a “private visit”.
In the originating summons made
available to TheCable, Effiong asked that the president clarify whether, in
view of the extant provisions of Section 145 (1) of the constitution, he can
validly proceed on a vacation for any length of time without transmitting a
written declaration to the president of the senate and speaker of the house of
representatives.
“Whether the 1st defendant in
refusing to adhere to the clear and unambiguous provisions of Section 145 (1)
of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) has
not by the singular action violated his oath of office and the Provisions of
the Constitution which he swore to uphold,” the suit read.
“Whether the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) or any other law for that
matter, permits the 1st defendant to exercise presidential authority over the
affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from any country outside the
territorial jurisdiction of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, save when he is
out of the country on official diplomatic engagements.”
The lawyer is seeking a
declaration that Buhari’s visit to the UK is a gross violation of the law as he
did not transmit any letter to the national assembly before proceeding on the
vacation.
He is also seeking a court order
restraining Buhari from going on vacations whether within or outside the
country without transmitting a letter to the national assembly.
Garba Shehu, a presidential
spokesman, had however argued that it was unnecessary for the president to
inform the national assembly of his private trip to the UK.
“The president didn’t make a
mistake by taking off without writing a letter to the national assembly because
it was unnecessary. In some of the leading democracies, it’s conventional that
in fact, a prime minister can be asked to leave the public space for private
time at least once in a month in some countries,” he had said.
In 2017, Buhari spent 51 days in
the European country on medical vacation during which Vice-President Yemi
Osinbajo assumed the role of acting president.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com