By Babs Oyetoro, Nathaniel Zacchaeus, and David Lawani
Senators across political parties yesterday vowed to commence impeachment proceedings against President Muhammadu Buhari if he did not address the embarrassing security situation in the country in the next six weeks.

The lawmakers decided at a two-hour closed session, presided over by Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, held before the commencement of the plenary.

In their resolution at the closed session, the senators agreed to give Buhari a six-week ultimatum to address the issue or risk impeachment.

They also insisted that all resolutions passed so far passed on how to improve the security situation in Nigeria must be implemented immediately by the Buhari-led administration.

They then agreed at the session that the Senate President should allow members to debate the issue at the plenary.

The Senate Minority Leader, Philip Aduda (FCT), however, protested the worsening security situation and demanded an open debate as agreed upon at the closed session.

Rising under a point of order not cited, he requested the chamber to give a six-week ultimatum to Buhari to address the issue of insecurity or face impeachment.

Aduda said, “Mr. President, you may wish to recall that during the closed session we discussed the issues as they relate to security in the country and all the issues around it.

“[And] we had also discussed that we are going to come back to plenary to discuss the efforts that have been made so far on the issue of security in the country, after which we give an ultimatum to the President that he resolves this issue, otherwise we give an impeachment notice.”

The Senate President, while delivering a ruling on Aduda’s point of order, faulted the lawmaker for failing to put forward his request under the upper chamber’s rules which regulate its proceedings.

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Lawan said, “Minority leader, when you’re going to come under a point of order, first, you’re supposed to cite the order. Secondly, you’re supposed to discuss with me what you’re going to raise on the floor. You didn’t. Thirdly, we have already passed that stage. So, at this moment, I don’t know what the point of order is, as such it falls flat on its face.”

Lawan, thereafter, instructed the leader of the Senate to proceed with items on the order paper.

*Stage walkout from plenary, give President six weeks ultimatum

The Minority Leader angrily led almost half of the senators in the chambers across all political parties to stage a walkout.

They chanted “Buhari Must Go” and “Lawan Must Go”, as they filed out of the red chamber.

The aggrieved senators including all the PDP members, some of their APC colleagues, and others from All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP), the Labour Party (LP), and Young Peoples Party (YPP), later converged at the Senate Press Corps to address journalists.

Aduda, who spoke on their behalf, lamented that Lawan stopped the Senate from taking a definite position on the embarrassing security challenges in the country at plenary.

He said, “We went into a closed-door session. Various security issues were discussed at the closed-door session. We also took into cognizance that the Senate, at various fora, at various times, and at various meetings, had recommended to the government steps to be taken to curb this issue of insecurity but we have realised that even Abuja is no safer.

“So, at the closed session we agreed that we will give the president an ultimatum and if he did not comply, we will move to give an impeachment notice. This was our agreement at the executive session but when we came out, the Senate President refused to inform the public of our resolution.

“Since that didn’t happen, we have come here in protest to let Nigerians know that we are with them, that we are worried. We staged a walk-out from the chambers to register that the security in Nigeria is out of hand and urgent steps need to be taken so that the issues are addressed immediately.

“We have come here to say that we have passed so many resolutions on security, we have given all the support and all the enabling appropriation that they need,” Aduda added.

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One of the APC members sighted among the protesting senators was, Adamu Bulkachuwa (Bauchi North). Also sighted were, Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA Abia South), Ibrahim Shekarau (NNPP Kano Central), and Francis Onyewuchi (Labour Party, Imo East).

The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Smart Adeyemi, confirmed to journalists on Wednesday that the decision to serve Buhari an impeachment notice was a collective position of all the senators at the executive session before the plenary.

He said, “I think it is wrong to say opposition. It was a collective decision of the senate, to give an ultimatum, the only difference from what the oppositions are eventually saying is a matter of semantics.

“We said that we are giving the President six weeks, they said they are serving impeachment notice immediately. We all agreed that we will move after six weeks.

“The opposition said we must give notice but we say it has to be six weeks ultimatum, they said after six weeks what happens we said they should wait till after six weeks first. I don’t see any difference.”

Also speaking with journalists, Abaribe confirmed that it was a collective decision taken at the closed session.

He said, “We all agreed that the impeachment notice should be served on President Muhammadu Buhari if he could not tackle insecurity within the six weeks. It is not an opposition party’s decision.”

When contacted, Senate Spokesperson, Senator Ajibola Basiru, said he was not part of the closed session.

Basiru, however, said he was concerned about the insecurity situation in the country.

He said, “There should be an executive-legislative strategy to tackle the situation. It is becoming worrisome and we cannot continue like this.”

Meanwhile, the President of the Senate, in his closing remarks, told security agencies in the country to be alert and do more to stop the heightening spate of insecurity across states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) perpetrated by terrorists.

This was even as he charged political leaders to be alive to their responsibility of ensuring the protection of the lives of citizens.

Lawan, while addressing lawmakers shortly before the upper chamber adjourned till September 20, for its annual recess, bemoaned the incessant killing and maiming of Nigerians by terrorists.

He assured that the National Assembly would provide the needed support to the military to ensure the restoration of security in affected parts of the country.

He said, “I am particularly concerned like all of us here, through our various interactions, including a very important closed session we had today.

“We (Federal Government) have to be alert and alive to our responsibility, particularly to secure and protect the lives of our citizens.

“The security situation has been a very difficult and challenging one, but, recently, there has been an increase of attacks, killings, and maiming of our citizens.

“As part of this administration, we will always provide the kind of support our military and other security agencies require.

“We have done that before through appropriation and approval of the supplementary budget of 2022, where over N900 billion was given as additional funding to our security agencies.

“We know that it may not be enough, but that is significant, and we expect our security agencies to do far better than they are doing at the moment. As political leaders, we must have in mind that we are responsible to the citizens.”

The Senate President informed lawmakers that they might be called upon during recess to attend to national emergencies should the need arise.

*‘It’s sheer bravado, they’re anarchists’-Presidency hits lawmakers, protesters

The Presidency yesterday described the PDP and other opposition parties’ lawmakers’ threat to impeach President Buhari over the rising insecurity in the country as an ordinary bravado.

Opposition lawmakers in the Red Chambers demanded the President’s impeachment over the killings and kidnappings by terrorists and other criminals in several parts of the country.

Reacting to the allegations, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, who featured in a Channels Television’s programme, Politics Today, described the PDP lawmakers as “the minority of the minority” whose threat was not enough to remove his principal.

Adesina described those threatening to embark on a national protest as more serious than #EndSARS because of the ASUU strike as anarchists, saying EndSARS represented nothing but evil in all entirety.

“I repeat they are anarchists for stocking the fire of confusion and anarchy. EndSARS represents anything wrong in the country”, he said emphatically.

The presidential spokesman who refused to admit that Presidential Muhammadu Buhari’s led government had failed maintained that this government had done well in other areas of our national life.

“A lot can still happen in the life of this administration. I want to say that no government solves all problems in any part of the world.”