Atiku Abubakar, presidential
candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has asked the international
community to put pressure on President Muhamamdu Buhari to desist from
“violating the constitution”.
In the letter addressed to
ambassadors of France, Germany, United States and the United Kingdom high
commissioner, Atiku accused the president of threatening the nation’s
democracy.
He also appealed to Nigerians to
vote out Buhari and elect a “true democrat” in next month’s election.
“I have chosen to write this
letter to Your Excellency for the enviable role that your country plays as
champion of Democracy and the Rule of Law,” the letter read in part.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is
threatening our democracy by serially breaching the provisions of our
constitution and undermining organs and institutions of State in order to
advance his personal interest.
“As a Presidential Candidate in
the forthcoming General Elections that will be conducted and supervised by the
Government of President Muhammadu Buhari, I feel the urgent need to share with
you some of these key violations of the provisions of our constitution and to
demand that you pile pressure on the Federal Government to desist from these
violations and ensure a level playing field for the General Elections that are
only a couple of weeks away.
“The choices facing all of us is
either to stand aside and watch Nigerians reelect a President who has been in
constant violation of the laws of the land without remorse; or to show him the
way out and elect a true democrat.”
Below are some of the
“constitutional infractions” highlighted by the PDP presidential candidate.
Suspension of CJN Onnoghen
Abubakar said the action of the
president not only breaches the Nigerian constitution, but has also “managed to
undermine presidential democracy by assaulting one of its hallowed doctrines of
separation of powers”.
He described the action as the
latest in a series of carefully planned onslaught on the nation’s democracy by
“an extremely power hungry and anxious president and the cabal that feeds fat
around him.
He alleged that the act is geared
towards affecting the outcome of the presidential elections.
Illegal purchase of the Tucano Aircrafts
Abubakar said Buhari, in April
2018, approved the purchase of Tucano Aircrafts for the Nigerian military at
the sum of $496 million, without seeking prior approval of the national
assembly.
He said Buhari violated section 80 (3) and (4) of the 1999 constitution
(as amended) which states how the president can spend monies belonging to the
federation.
Disregard for Orders of Courts
Abubakar said the Buhari-led
administration has “serially violated” court orders, going against the rule of
law especially in three known cases.
He cited the cases of Sambo
Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA), Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of
the Members of the Islamic Movement (IMN) as examples of such infractions.
He noted that Dasuki had been
granted bail “on at least six different occasions” while the Buhari-led
government “persistently refused to comply with the court orders.
He said El-Zakzaky has been in
detention without trial for over three years despite calls to release him.
Approval of $1 billion for military expenditure
Abubakar said the federal
government, through the National Economic Council (NEC), granted approval for
the release of $1 billion from the excess crude account (ECA) for the
procurement of military hardware and other equipment to fight insecurity in the
country, in contravention of section 80 (3) and (4) of the 1999 constitution.
Executive Order No. 006
The PDP candidate also said the
enactment of the Presidential Executive Order No. 006 as an executive
legislation which permits security agencies to freeze the assets of persons
standing trial or undergoing investigation is a trespass on legislative and
judicial powers of the national assembly.
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