By Press Release
ABUJA – A coalition comprising 43 frontline civil society organizations and Femi Falana’s law firm has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to resign or be removed from office by the National Assembly if he cannot address the persistent insecurity in the country.
This is one of the five-point demands of the coalition in a statement on Sunday declaring that Mr. Buhari has failed in his primary responsibility of ensuring the security and welfare of Nigerians.
“President Buhari and his government have failed in their primary duty under Section 14 2(b) of the 1999 Constitution which is ensuring the security and welfare of the Nigerian people,” their joint statement read in part.
The coalition demanded among others that the President “provide political and moral leadership for the security crisis and ensure governmental actions are humane in tandem with Section 17 (2) ( C ) of the Constitution.”
They also charged him to end impunity, abuse of power, and “sectionalism through his appointments by balancing the need for competence with the federal character principle.”
According to them, through the balancing, it will be demonstrated “that every part of Nigeria matters as sectional appointments appear to fuel sectional violence.”
They also tasked the President to take “responsibility and end the persecution of the media and free speech both of which are foundations of a democratic state.”
The groups also demanded that he mobilise “rich Nigerian assets to address the insecurity situation across the country and seek international cooperation to ramp up security assets.
“Where the President fails to fulfill his constitutional duties as stated above, we demand the steps aside or the National Assembly initiates impeachment proceedings against him on grounds of gross misconduct as provided for in Section 143 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the statement added.
Some of the coalition members are Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project (SERAP), Zero-Corruption Coalition (ZCC), and African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL).
They also include BudgiT Foundation, State of the Union (SOTU), Action International Nigeria, Femi Falana Chamber, HEDA Resource Centre, Open Bar Initiative, Resource Centre, Borno Coalition for Democracy and Progress (BOCODEP), Global Rights, Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement (YIAGA), Tax Justice and Governance Platform, Women In Nigeria, African Centre for Leadership, and Strategy & Development (Centre LSD).
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