Not less than 20 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN’s have
revealed plans to drag President Goodluck Jonathan to court in search of
important legal interpretation on the President’s eligibility to contest in the
2015 general election.
A
security source who claimed he was not authorized to speak on the matter
disclosed that the action of the SAN’s is part of a security report expected to
be submitted to the President this week, Leadership reports.
Over 20 SANs are set to take the president to court. The
president will be briefed on this development this week. We hope the president
will act quickly on the report,” he said.
It
was gathered that some powerful politicians and groups across the country
allegedly gathered a team of lawyers to challenge Jonathan’s whenever he
declares his intention to seek re-election in the 2015 general polls.
According
to Nigeria’s constitution, a president can only serve two terms, which the
opposition claims Jonathan has already served. It was said that the opposing
politicians were waiting for President Jonathan to officially declare so that
they can embark on the legal battle, since any move in that direction now would
only result to a wild goose chase.
However,
it is believed that President Jonathan is reconsidering his 2015 re-election
ambition following the constitutional bottlenecks in his way, even as lawyers
in the country have also started debating the issue.
“There are two constitutional provisions that are in
question. The first is section 135 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which states that no president can take the
oath of office of the president of Nigeria more than twice. You will recall
that on May 6, 2010, President Jonathan was sworn in by Justice Aloysius
Katsina-Alu as the fifth president of Nigeria after the death of then president
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Upon winning the presidential election in 2011, he was
again sworn in and took the oath of office as the sixth president of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. This means he has been sworn in twice already, not
as acting president but with full powers as commander-in-chief,” a source who spoke
on condition of anonymity said.
The
contentious 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, has taken such oaths.”
Meanwhile,
the source also hinted that President Jonathan is already consulting with
stakeholders across the country and beyond on his eligibility to contest in the
2015 election although he is believe to officially declare soon.
It
would be recalled that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday,
September 18, 2014, adopted President Goodluck Jonathan as its sole candidate
for the 2015 presidential elections.
A development that is believed to be
challenged by governor’s under the platform of the party after PDP, National
Working Committee, NWC, recently issued a warning to all its state chapters.
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