Tucano: NASS abandons Buhari impeachment over reelection fears

Tucano: NASS abandons Buhari impeachment over reelection fears

OrderPaperToday – In spite of an alleged breach of the constitution by President Muhammadu Buhari in approving the release of $496million for the purchase of military aircraft without appropriation, uncertainty over their reelection has forced members of the National Assembly to abandon an impeachment move.

Incidentally, the battle for political survival and control of party structures which enters a critical stage at the state congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) taking place across the country today, further fuels fears over their fate as many senators who have a running battle with their state governors may end up losing out completely.

Anger and threats of impeachment had filled the National Assembly when revelations emerged that President Buhari had approved the sum of $496 million for the purchase of Tucano helicopters from the United States of America without recourse to the legislature for an appropriation as required by law.

The Senate had referred the matter to a committee to determine whether the President had breached the law and should be subjected to impeachment processes. But nothing has been heard of the matter again even though the Committee was mandated to report its recommendations to plenary after a week from April 13, 2018.

Checks by OrderPaperNG revealed that the impeachment move may have been abandoned as senators and members of the House of Representatives fear of possible backlash that could jeopardize their chances of returning to the legislature or pursuing other political aspirations.

This is despite the fact that the alleged constitutional breach by the President is yet to be remedied as the sums used to purchase the Tucano helicopters did not make a retroactive inclusion in the 2018 budget passed by the lawmakers on Wednesday.

Recall that the President had written the National Assembly seeking to include the money for the aircraft in the budget but the move was spurned by members of the House of Representatives after Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila attempted to sway his colleagues to consider a retroactive approval.

Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Mr Mustapha Dawaki (APC, Kano) confirmed in an exclusive chat with OrderPaperNG that the aircraft purchase was not captured. Mr. Dawaki clarified that the additional sum of N157billion captured in the 2018 budget under the Ministry of Defence did not accommodate the purchase of the Tucano aircraft.

According him, “the present budget cannot accommodate everything even the $496 million Mr. President is asking for in his letter to purchase the Tucano aircraft. It will be difficult for us to increase the budget because everyone is asking questions on why the budget was increased from eight to nine trillion naira.”

Dawaki further said the expenditure as well as other items not captured in the budget will be taken care of in a supplementary appropriation bill expected to be brought by the President later in the year.

“Again don’t also forget we have the issue of subsidy whereby NNPC has gone ahead to pay subsidy of over three trillion naira without appropriation, all these issues would have to be considered through a supplementary budget.” he added.

Enquiries by OrderPaperNG from some lawmakers as to the reason behind the silence on the impeachment threat received hushed responses. A lawmaker who spoke on the ground of anonymity said the 2019 general elections were around the corner and no politician would want to stake his position for the sake of an impeachment threat.

“You know that nobody would want to come out and challenge the President now and, moreover, you are aware the general election is not too far from now. Also, the process of impeaching a president is very cumbersome, so impeachment in Nigeria is easier said than done,” the lawmaker volunteered.