Medical vacation: Buhari must hand over to Osinbajo ― Clark

Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari, now on a medical vacation in the United Kingdom, hands over powers to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to act for the period of his absence from the country.

He made the demand at a press conference in his Abuja residence on Tuesday, saying that the administration had taken the country for granted because of the apparent docility of citizens.

Clark, who is the leader of the Southern and Middle Belt Forum (SMBLF), argued that it is a violation of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) for the president to have gone on medical vacation without writing to the Senate and transmitting powers to Osinbajo to act in his stead.

Clark noted the argument that the presidency had often relied on to the effect that transmitting powers to the vice president is only necessary when the president has to be away for 21 days, which is foreign to the Constitution.

He said: “The Constitution Section 145 is very clear, simple. There is no issue of 21 days and the president cannot import into the constitution what is not there.

“What Section 145 says, president shall transmit to the National Assembly, the president of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, whenever he will be away on medical vacation and in his absence, the constitution empowers the vice president to act the president. And the word ‘shall’ is used there.

“Where does Mr. President get that one (21 days) from? That one does not exist, except that’s another constitution. I am a lawyer.”

 

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