No going back on Jonathan’s impeachment if … – Reps

The House of Representatives has declared

that its decision to initiative impeachment

proceedings against President Goodluck

Jonathan if he fails to comply with its

directives on 100 percent implementation of

the budget by September is irrevocable.

The lawmakers, arising from its last

Thursday’s plenary which discussed

extensively on the snail speed

implementation of the 2012 Appropriation

Act, by President Jonathan and the attendant

ultimatum issued, said that if by September

30 when the House resume from recess, there is no marked improvement, the House would

be left with no choice than to initiative impeachment proceedings.

The lawmakers said they were not unaware of the comments as well the deliberate plan by

the Presidency to misinform the public on the rationale behind their nationalistic stand.

House Chairman, Media and Publicity, Zakari Mohammed, in a statement on Monday said the

lawmakers’ decision was fired by the fact that the growth in the economy has not reflected

in the well being of Nigerians.

He said: “This bold and patriotic step by the Seventh Assembly has attracted different

comments from a lot of quarters, expectedly, therefore some sponsored news editorial and

commentaries chose to deliberately misinform the public on the rationale behind our

nationalistic stand, for the avoidance of doubt, whilst we are aware that all revenue

generating agencies have surpassed their annual target by mid this year.

“The House is worried that this positive development did not reflect the implementation of

the budget for the benefit of the Nigerian peoples.”

The spokesman also noted faulted reasons adduced by the Presidency as being behind the

impeachment moves of the lawmakers, saying, “This trend if not arrested would worsen the

already fragile state of the nation, hence the need for our quick intervention.

“To then insinuate that the House of Representatives took this noble step to satisfy pressure

from a political party or because the Constituency projects were not awarded to members or

because of the drama that followed the presentation of the fuel subsidy report, is to say the

least malicious damaging and uncharitable to the image of the Assembly.

“We in the legislature are lawmakers and not contractors and that the constituency projects

execution has been the exclusive preserves of the executive and its agencies, at no time has

there been any argument on this.

“Similarly what members do in the course of the budget preparation is to furnish the

respective MDAs with locations and area of needs of our constituencies,” he stated.

Culled: The Nation