Forces within and outside the House of Representatives
failed to get the lower chamber to set up a medical panel on the health of
President Muhammadu Buhari, Daily Trust has learnt.
Sources told Daily Trust yesterday in Abuja that the forces
had wanted the panel to be made up of six members – one each from the six
geo-political zones.
The panel was to visit President Buhari in London to
determine his state of health, sources said.
The ultimate aim, the sources said, was to get a report
stating that the president was incapacitated and so should
“honourably resign” from office.
The president has been away on medical vacation in London
since May 7.
Daily Trust gathered that the move began last month
following rumours that the president was incapacitated.
According to sources, some members of the opposition Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the House made several attempts to come up with a
motion to constitute a panel, made up of medical doctors, to visit the
president in London.
A source said 19 members, mostly from the South South and
South East, met several times on how to come up with the motion, which would
have been presented before the House embarked on its annual recess late July.
However, it was gathered that the leadership of the House,
led by Speaker Yakubu Dogara, resisted the move and told the members that the
situation did not warrant any such action.
Responding to Daily Trust inquiry on the matter, a lawmaker
said: “It is very true. 19 members from the southern part of the country were
the ones meeting and spearheading the whole thing.
“In fact, one of them told me how they went about it. They
signed a document regarding that, and they were poised to recruit more of their
ilk.
“But Dogara was gentleman enough to stop it. He said that
would never happen under his watch. He counselled them, so they couldn’t even
come up with the motion on the floor of the House,” the lawmaker, who did not
want to be named said.
Another source said: “Some powerful forces in the country
made spirited attempts to get the House of Representatives to set up a panel of
seven members: one from each of the six geo political zones to visit London to
ascertain the true health of the President.
“The forces that represented powerful interests used some
members of the House to approach the Speaker to constitute the committee.
“Sensing what they were up to, the Speaker told them
to bring up the matter as a motion. In fact, he said they should come under a
substantive motion, and you know what it means to do that.
“They pushed hard and tried to convince him that the issue
does not require a motion; that it is too sensitive to table a motion on it as
it may generate tension in the chamber, so he should just use his powers as
Speaker to announce that the leadership has set up the panel.
“But he refused. He told them that matters like this can
only be decided by the whole House and as such, it should be presented under a
substantive motion and will be subjected to vote by members.
“If it scaled through, the House would proceed to set up the
panel. They told the Speaker that they will go and draft the motion. He never
heard from them again,” another source said.
Yet another lawmaker told Daily Trust that had the movers
succeeded in bringing the motion before the House, they would have “killed it.”
“The plan was that someone from one of the South South
states was to present the motion. But I told them they would never succeed. I
waited for the day they would bring the motion, but they didn’t up to the day
we proceeded on our annual recess.
“Their aim was for Buhari to be removed as president,” the
lawmaker said.
Another lawmaker also confirmed there was such a move. He
said: “Yes, there was that move, even though I don’t have the full details, but
I heard there was such move.
“In fact, I first heard it from some of my aides, but
because the issue wasn’t that popular, it didn’t even come to the floor of the
House. I think it was the leadership that stopped the movers from the very
beginning.”
Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, could not be reached for reaction
as his mobile phone was shut down at the time of filing this report. A text
message sent to him was not responded to.
When contacted last night, House spokesman, Abdulrazak
Namdas (APC, Adamawa), said he was not aware of the matter.
But a member from Katsina State, Ahmed Babba Kaita,
confirmed that there was such move but that it could not have succeeded.
“Some of us were aware that some members wanted to bring a
motion on the president’s health. But no motion anyone will bring on Buhari
that will succeed,” Kaita said.
What the constitution says
Section 144 (1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that the
president or vice-president shall cease to hold office, if “(a) by a resolution
passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the Executive Council of
the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable
of discharging the functions of his office; and (b) the declaration is
verified, after such a medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical
panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the
President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
Section 144 subsection (2) states that “where the medical
panel certifies in the report that in its opinion the President or
Vice-President is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him
permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice
thereof signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of
the Federation.”
By Musa Abdullahi Krishi
