Impeachment threat: Reps have genuine grievance against Jonathan, says PDP

 

 

Members of Nigeria's House of Representatives

In a stunning move, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has admitted that members of the House of Representatives, including its majority PDP members, have a genuine case for threatening to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan, but that the party would protect his job.

Speaking today on behalf of the National Working Committee (NWC), the Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja, said the President has been making errors that ought to have him impeached, but that the party would intervene to ensure he is not removed from office prematurely.

Dr. Jaja was quick to warn, however, that although the House is dominated by the PDP, it would not force its decision on the House.  

“Many of them (in the House) are PDP people, I agreed, but they have their grievances,” he said.  “We will not also say that [just because] they are PDP people of course we will lord it over them, this thing must be attended diplomatically, so that wherever anybody has gone wrong it will be sorted out and eventually this storm will definitely die down.”

The Deputy National Chairman, who got his moment in the sun because the party is trying to shield its chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, from public embarrassment occasioned by his son’s involvement in the ongoing oil subsidy prosecution, tried to set things in perspective.  

“It is not [true] that they [Representatives] are not making any sense,” he admitted.  “It is not also [untrue] that the President is making error that requires impeachment.   At times we gloat [over] these things, but the party has set up machineries to look into all the grievances of the members of the National Assembly and what is the position of the President.”

He said he believed that there are areas for both sides to meet and resolve the issue in the interest of democracy in the country.

Culled from Sahara Reporters