Lawyers Drag President Jonathan To Court

 

                         Not less than 20 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN’s have revealed plans to drag President Goodluck Jonathan to court in search of important legal interpretation on the President’s eligibility to contest in the 2015 general election.


A security source who claimed he was not authorized to speak on the matter disclosed that the action of the SAN’s is part of a security report expected to be submitted to the President this week, Leadership reports.
“Over 20 SANs are set to take the president to court. The president will be briefed on this development this week. We hope the president will act quickly on the report,” he said.
It was gathered that some powerful politicians and groups across the country allegedly gathered a team of lawyers to challenge Jonathan’s whenever he declares his intention to seek re-election in the 2015 general polls.
According to Nigeria’s constitution, a president can only serve two terms, which the opposition claims Jonathan has already served. It was said that the opposing politicians were waiting for President Jonathan to officially declare so that they can embark on the legal battle, since any move in that direction now would only result to a wild goose chase.
However, it is believed that President Jonathan is reconsidering his 2015 re-election ambition following the constitutional bottlenecks in his way, even as lawyers in the country have also started debating the issue.
“There are two constitutional provisions that are in question. The first is section 135 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which states that no president can take the oath of office of the president of Nigeria more than twice. You will recall that on May 6, 2010, President Jonathan was sworn in by Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu as the fifth president of Nigeria after the death of then president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Upon winning the presidential election in 2011, he was again sworn in and took the oath of office as the sixth president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This means he has been sworn in twice already, not as acting president but with full powers as commander-in-chief,” a source who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
The contentious Section 135 (1) & (2) of the Constitution provide thus:
“(1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, a person shall hold the office of President until – (a) his successor in office takes the oath of office; (b) he dies whilst holding such office; or (c) the date when his resignation from office takes effect; or (d) he otherwise ceases to hold office in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. (2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the President shall vacate his office at the expiration of a period of four years commencing from the date, when – (a) in the case of a person first elected as President under this Constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of office; and (b) in any case, the person last elected to that office under this Constitution took the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of office but, for his death, has taken such oaths.” 
Meanwhile, the source also hinted that President Jonathan is already consulting with stakeholders across the country and beyond on his eligibility to contest in the 2015 election although he is believe to officially declare soon.

It would be recalled that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday, September 18, 2014, adopted President Goodluck Jonathan as its sole candidate for the 2015 presidential elections. A development that is believed to be challenged by governor’s under the platform of the party after PDP, National Working Committee, NWC, recently issued a warning to all its state chapters.