Nigerian People, Kindly read with keen interest, and pass your judgments, if Jonathan is eligible to context forthcoming Presidential election or not: “If we can remember, President Jonathan was elected Vice-President in 2007, on the same ticket as, President Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (R.I.P). However, Jonathan became President on the 6th May 2010, to complete the tenure of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua which would have expired on the 28th May 2011. That means, President Jonathan inherited the tenure of President Yaradua. After President Jonathan became President on the 6th May 2010, he is deemed to have been “First elected” to come under the contemplation of Section 135 (1) (b) of the Constitution. Ordinarily President Jonathan would have been deemed “First elected” on the 29th May 2011, if he had not become President on the 6th May 2010. President Jonathan did not become Vice President by selection. He was elected Vice President. He contested the Presidential Election of 2007 alongside President Yar’adua (R.I.P). He was then regarded as an associate of President Yar’adua. He cannot extricate himself from President Yaradua’s tenure. After he took over as President on the 6th May 2010 he was deemed to have continued with the term or tenure of President Yaradua. That tenure ended on the 29th May 2011. The relevant provisions of the Constitution especially Sections 130, 132, 134, 137, 141, 142, 143, 144 and 146 thereof must be interpreted holistically not in isolation from one another. “It is a fact that on the 6th May, 2010, in a formal but abstemious ceremony in the Office of the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu administered the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance as enjoined by the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, on the then, Acting-President Goodluck Jonathan as the 5th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria following the death of then President Umaru Musa Yar’adua. It is well settled that by virtue the provisions of Section 146 (1) of the Constitution the Vice-President shall hold the office of President if the office of the President becomes vacant by reason of death or resignation or impeachment, permanent incapacity or the removal of the President from office for any reason in accordance with the provisions of Section 143 of the Constitution. It was obvious that it was Section 146 (1) of the Constitution that was invoked to give legitimacy and constitutionality to President Jonathan’s swearing in as President on the 6th May 2010. On the 29th May 2011, President Jonathan was sworn in as the 6th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria after he was declared the winner of the Presidential Election held on the 16th April 2011, by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Thus, President Jonathan took the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance as enjoined by the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (supra) for the second time. That meant, President Jonathan has taken the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance twice, As a result: on the 6/5/2010 & 29/5/2011 respectively. The pertinent question is: What is the constitutional implication or consequences of the taking of the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance twice by President Jonathan? Section 135 (1) & (2) of the Constitution provide thus: “(1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, a person shall hold the office of President until – (a) his successor in office takes the oath of office; (b) he dies whilst holding such office; or (c) the date when his resignation from office takes effect; or (d) he otherwise ceases to hold office in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. (2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of four years commencing from the date, when – (a) in the case of a person first elected as President under this Constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of office; and (b) in any case, the person last elected to that office under this Constitution took the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of office but for his death, have taken such oaths.” He should have been sworn in as caretaker President after President Shehu Musa Yar’Adua death, I think. Only my opinion.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 12:50:49 +0000
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