CSO holds solidarity protest in Abuja, says Osinbajo exercising full presidential powers

Following the recent call by a group of concerned Nigerians on President Buhari to either resume or resign, a Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiatives, on Thursday,

in Abuja, said there was no cause for the alarm over the president’s health.

The group also said there was no provision in the constitution which stated how long the president would stay out of office while seeking medical attention.

According to the group, what the president needed to do which was stipulated in the constitution was to transmit power to the vice president through a letter to the National Assembly, which

President Buhari did.

Addressing the protesters in Abuja, convener of the protest Mr Okpokwu Ogenyi said “no provision of the constitution gave time limit when the president is expected to return and resume his duties if sick as well, it is not found anywhere in the constitution the time frame of an acting president.

“Inasmuch as we all want our president back to his duties, the constitution never stipulated how long a serving president of Nigeria can be away on medical holiday.

Anyone demanding the resignation or forced return of the president is daring God.

“What the constitution required of President Buhari to do in event of such vacation was to take hand over to the vice president by transmitting a letter to the National Assembly.

“President Buhari did exactly that and the vice president automatically became the acting president and has been working in line with their joint mandate to meet the yearnings of Nigerians.”

Furthermore, Mr Ogenyi noted that there was no vacuum in the Presidency as being speculated. He said “Acting President Yemi Osinbajo exercises the full presidential powers which allowed him of recent to make some appointments and signed the national budget and other bills.

“And because the president has transmitted full powers to his deputy, Acting President Osinbajo has been exercising the full presidential powers, making appointment, signing budget and other bills passed by the National Assembly.

In other words, the president’s absence is not hampering governance in any way and President  Buhari has not breached any law of the land.