Constitution: "Buhari Can Stay In London Till 2019, Nothing Will Happen" - Clark

Unless the Senate reviews provisions of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, President Muhammadu Buhari can remain in London “till the end of his tenure and nothing will happen.”

This was according to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Robert Clark, who said this yesterday during a television program, Sunday Politics, on Channels Television.

According provisions of Section 145 of the 1999 constitution, “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.”

Clark, who noted that Nigeria`s 1963 constitution remains the best, said the loopholes in the 1999 constitution makes it difficult for the country to replace the ailing president even if he decides to remain in London for the rest of his tenure.

He said, “The funny thing about Nigeria is that we never learn from our previous mistakes. During the case of Yar’adua when he was so sick that he could not come back, instead of going to the constitution and seeing what it says, we started talking about the doctrine of necessity.

“That doctrine should only apply to a cabinet system, not to the presidential system; where everything has already been spelt out in the constitution”.

“That section 145 says that unless the president himself sends a contrary statement; you cannot do anything; that is the lacuna. Buhari can stay till the end of his tenure; nothing will happen,” Mr. Clark said.

“Amendments are only sponsored because it will help the senators’ parties, their regions or themselves. So you find out that many of these amendments are not necessary.

“What is necessary is that we all realise that the 1999 constitution was imposed on us and it is a rotten constitution. No amount of amendment will make it workable.

“The 1999 constitution is a rotten egg in Nigeria; it is a constitution that has allowed the public officers to enrich themselves. Whichever way it happens, we need to change the constitution, not to revive it,” he said.

“The 1963 constitution is the best constitution Nigeria has ever had. All what we are talking about today that needs amendment; they are all in that constitution.”

The senior lawyer further urged the Buhari administration to “listen to the plight of the people” and create another confab as the one created by the Goodluck Jonathan is “without a legal framework for the implementation of the recommendations of the constitution.”

“Let him listen to the people, let God direct him to act; the front burner in our national discuss is the talk about devolution, or restructuring. That is the front burner and nothing else,” said Clark.