Hon, who spoke to our correspondent in Port Harcourt , Rivers State, said the 1999 constitution did not make room for the vacuum created by the President’s absence from the country.
While sympathising with the President over his health condition, he argued that Aondoakaa’s position that Yar’Adua could rule from his sick bed was unconstitutional.
He also disagreed with those that had argued that since Yar’Adua did not write to the National Assembly before travelling to Saudi Arabia for treatment, a vacuum had been created in the Presidency.
He stated, “I strongly disagree with that position and the position taken by the Attorney-General of the Federation, that Yar’Adua can rule from his sick bed or anywhere outside Nigeria.”
He warned against attempts to interpret the constitution to create a vacuum in the leadership of the country.
He called on Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to take over the running of the country until Yar’Adua’s returned.
Citing the ruling of the Supreme Court in the case of Muhammadu Buhari vs Olusegun Obasanjo (2004) FWLR (Pt. 101) 1487 at 1506-1507, he said there was no vacuum in the government.
He also referred to former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Andrew Obaseki’s 12-Point Rule in the case involving the Attorney-General of Bendel State and the Attorney-General of the Federation, (1981) 10 SC 1.
He said, “Nobody should therefore wrongfully rely on the provisions of Section 145 of the constitution to claim that since the President did not officially write to the National Assembly, the vice-president is not the Acting President.
“Such interpretation will amount to using a constitutional provision to achieve an unconstitutional result, which is not permissible under our constitutional jurisprudence.
“Section 141 of the constitution has set up the office of the vice-president; while Section 84 stipulates that he be paid salaries and section 146 (1) gives him the right to assume office of the President under circumstances stipulated thereunder.”
Based on these, he argued that under the country’s constitutional framework, the vice-president was not supposed to be an outsider to the Presidency.
Having been duly elected by the people, he insisted that Jonathan should not operate at Yar’Adua’s mercy.
Continuing, he said, “Since he was elected by Nigerians, who are also paying his emoluments, an unconstitutional result will be achieved if he is rendered lame duck only as it pleases the President.”
Even in ordinary parlance, he argued that the word “vice” meant “in place of,” meaning that Jonathan could act in the place of Yar’Adua.
He said the need for Jonathan to take over was also part of an implied delegation under constitutional jurisprudence.
“I insist that Vice-President Jonathan is the Acting President of Nigeria and should go about acting as such very boldly and unhindered,” he concluded.
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