From: Shitile Mbayansa, Abuja
It started with a tweet from Nigeria’s most prominent professor of Law and senior advocate, insisting that contrary to comments in certain quarters, he is the acting chief executive of Nigeria.
It was followed up by an official Federal government position that the hullabaloo over the phrasing of President Muhammadu Buhari’s leave letter to the National Assembly is “a needless controversy.”
Tweeting and seeking clarification, one Bernard Amaiguo had asked: “Mr. vice president, why did Mr President refuse to hand over the affairs of the country to you?”
Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) tweeted back, “He did sir. He transmitted a letter to the Senate in compliance with S.145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
In its response, the government neglected to mention the draughtsman of the letter, and if any punishent will be meted out to him for putting government in a bad spot. A similar gaffe in plagiarising former American President, Barack Obama, in a speech by Buhari fizzled out without full disclosure of steps taken to deal with the situation.
Buhari’s letter to the National Assembly last Tuesday, invoked Section 145(1) of the Constitution to inform legislators of his medical trip to London.
Buhari had written on Tuesday, “While I am way, the Vice-president will coordinate the affairs of government…” ; but a previous letter said that Osinbajo will “perform duties of my office.”
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed told journalists that the controversy is a needless one adding, “it’s just a distraction, the operating sentence is that in compliance with section 145(1), any other word used is not relevant.”
