President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned an emergency security conference of the National Security Council in response to the prospect of impeachment by Nigerian MPs over the country's security condition.
The senators are thought to have decided as a group to impeach Buhari.
The members left the chamber on July 27, 2022, under the leadership of the Senate Minority Leader, Philip Aduda (PDP, FCT), after Senate President Ahmad Lawan blocked a motion to discuss the nation's current security challenges.
Why Senators Want Buhari Removed from Office: Earlier, Aduda had filed a point of order asking for the President to be given a six-week deadline to address the nation's security issues or face impeachment.
“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.
“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 lawmaker said.
Lawan, however, refused the directive, claiming Aduda had not discussed it with him.
Senators from opposition parties stormed out of the session after the decision, led by the Minority Leader, yelling, "All we are saying is, Buhari must go, Nigeria must survive."
FG Confirms Security Meeting: In response to the development yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, assured Nigerians that the government was working around the clock to address the security challenges in the country while fielding questions from journalists following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House.
He said, “Resolution passed by Senators, as rightly said, it was passed when we were deliberating, but we thank them for their patriotism and their concern, but we are working round the clock, 24 hours, to ensure that the situation is brought under control.
“I want to assure you that the president is aware of all these and as a matter of fact, I think tomorrow, there’s going to be another Security Council meeting. So, it’s not a matter the president is taking lightly and like I’ll always say, some of the measures we’re going to take are not measures that you can discuss openly here, but we’re as concerned as you are, we’re not going to abandon our responsibility.”
Regarding the recent threat from bandits, Mohammed also brushed off the militants' threat to kidnap President Buhari, calling it as propaganda.
Regarding individuals who have threatened Mr. President, I believe their threats to be more propaganda than anything more. It's ridiculous," he said.
While the walkout was orchestrated by PDP legislators, the decision to impeach Buhari is thought to have been made by all the senators.
Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi West), according to Daily Trust, claimed that none of the senators present at the plenary opposed the threat of impeachment.
