While Buhari is away, lawmaker sidelines VP osinbajo, chooses Gov Shettima as replacement for President

While Buhari is away, lawmaker sidelines VP osinbajo, chooses Gov Shettima as replacement for President

- Honorable Danlami Kubo has said that Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state should be next to rule Nigeria.

- The Deputy Speaker of Borno House of Assembly, says moves are being made to ensure that Shettima becomes the next president of the nation

- The lawmaker says there is no better candidate to replace Buhari than Shettima

- Kubo's claims comes on the heels of calls for the resignation of President Buhari due to a prolonged vacation tied to the president's need for rest and medical attention

Danlami Kubo, the Deputy Speaker of Borno House of Assembly, said on Tuesday, February 21, that his state governor, Kashim Shettima, should be the next man to rule Nigeria at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.

The lawmaker said moves were being made to see that the candidacy of Mr. Shettima is accepted when the time comes for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to get President Buhari’s successor.

While Buhari is away, lawmaker moves for Governor Shettima to become President

Premium Times reports that Kubo was not specific on whether his wish for Mr. Shettima to succeed Buhari would be in 2019 or beyond. The Borno governor has also not declared any intention to run for president, while Mr. Buhari has not declared if he would seek a second term or not.

Kubo, who has represented Shani constituency of Borno in the State House of Assembly since 2007, heads the assembly’s Women Affairs committee.

He made this declaration during the flag-off of a three day entrepreneurial training for 10,000 selected widows and displaced women, which was organised by the federal government.

The lawmaker told the crowd that Borno State has continued to enjoy much patronage from the federal government because of the “good leadership qualities” of Mr. Shettima.

“We are more than serious about this project”, he said. “Our governor has been very exemplary in his stewardship especially of a state that is faced with the daunting challenges of insurgency.”

“It is only few people that could remain calm and focused as chief executive of a state at a time when more than half of his state was being taken over by Boko Haram, millions of people displaced, thousands killed and properties worth billions of naira destroyed. And these are happening all through his tenure.

“And that did not make him shy away from his primary responsibility as well as other national responsibilities”.

The lawmaker said Shettima’s emergence as chairman of the 19 northern governors’ forum was an icing on his cake of eligibility to succeed President Buhari.

“Even as the chairman of the northern governors’ forum, His Excellency Governor Shettima has continued to shine as a true leader. Since he became the chairman of the NGF, the forum has been more organised and transformed. And this means that if he is given the opportunity to lead this country, he would do so effectively. Besides, from his achievements in Borno state speaks volume. He has never for once abdicated his roles even for once.

He said if given the chance to lead Nigeria, Mr. Shettima would not discriminate against anyone.

“Kashim Shettima has no kind of negative biases at all. He is a man that can unite this country and take it beyond the heights that out able President Buhari is taking us to now.

“He has shown us in Borno state that both Christians and Muslims are one; and he does that during all the festive seasons by visiting the Muslims and even the Christians in southern Borno during the Christmas time. That is the kind of leader we want to succeed our father, President Buhari.”

The Borno legislator also wanted more women involved in the state’s politics. He said as the chairman of the House committee on women affairs, he has been mobilising his colleagues and party leaders across the state to allow more women emerge as council chairmen in the coming council elections in the state.

“Honestly, the population of women in Borno State is more than that of the men”, he said. “Even the ratio of women that turn out to cast votes in most elections are higher than that of the men.

“As a matter of fact, 75 per cent of voters, especially in the rural areas are women.”

The lawmaker said despite women’s population, it was unfair there was no female council chairman or lawmaker in the state.

“I have been doing it on personal level and now I am involving my other 27 colleagues in the state house of assembly, and they have all agreed to join me in this campaign. That is the only way we could better empower our women folks,” he said.

An Abuja based lawyer, Dr Kayode Ajulo, says it is unconstitutional for some people to be asking for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Ajulo, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not under any obligation to write or give explanations to the public regarding the purpose of his absence.

Ajulo, on Wednesday in Abuja, said that Section 145 of the 1999 constitution as amended stated that the president should present written declaration of his inability to discharge the functions of his office to the National Assembly.

According to him, such a declaration is to vest such functions and capacity of his office to the Vice President.

Ajulo explained that the declaration was valid until Buhari presented another declaration to the contrary.

The lawyer said that the vice president had been vested with all the powers of the office of the president.

He explained that by virtue of the declaration, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo was right in carrying out the duties of the office of the president.

He said, “Buhari has submitted his written declaration to the president of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the effect of his absence.”

Ajulo said the comments by certain individuals to the effect that the president should leave office or give explanations regarding his health status was of no importance and could not be backed by statute.

According to him, the only people empowered to ask the president to vacate his office by virtue of section 144 of the constitution is the two-third majority of the Federal Executive Council.

This, he said, could be done by the council by declaring the inability of the president to carry out his functions.

According to NAN, Ajulo explained that based on this majority vote, the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives would set up a medical committee to look into the health status of the president and deliver its report.

He said, “Until this is done, no one has the right to inquire into the health status of the president or demand that he should step down by reason of his health.

“It is, therefore, ludicrous that certain people are asking for the resignation of Mr President when the provisions of section 144 of the constitution is yet to be evoked or complied with.”