Buhari’s impeachment: More PDP Reps tackle House leadership over sanction threat
More members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the House of Representatives have faulted the threat by the leadership of the House to sanction the leader of the PDP caucus, Mr Kingsley Chinda, over his call for the impeachment of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Chinda had urged Nigerians to prevail on the National Assembly to begin the impeachment process against Buhari over the killing of 43 rice farmers in Borno State by Boko Haram and the abduction of over 340 schoolboys in Kankara, Katsina State.
But the Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, had in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Monday, threatened Chinda with sanctions by the House if the PDP leader continued to call for Buhari’s impeachment.
A member from Rivers State, Mr Awaji-Inombek Abiante, in an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, however, stated that Chinda had not committed any offence by speaking for his constituents and other Nigerians as their representative.
Abiante dismissed the threat as “a lack of understanding of the responsibilities of a legislative arm of government,” adding that it exposed the “lack of depth.”
Responding to a question on whether members of the PDP caucus were out to defend Chinda, Abiante said, “Does the House have the power to send a member elected by the people of a constituency out of legislative functions? The answer is no. If in the past, people have been so barred, my people elected me to be in the House and I speak on their behalf. Nobody has the right to take me out.”
Chinda had, in his reaction to Ado-Doguwa’s threat, said he was ready to face the consequence of the impeachment calls. “I’m prepared,” he had told our correspondent.
The PDP leader had added in part, “You should ask if it would be fair to Nigerians. I speak for Nigerians. They should ask Nigerians to stop the call for the removal of President. I have the backing of the majority of Nigerians.”
