Vunderkind
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Senator Babafemi Ojudu has alleged that the president is in a secret plot to defer the elections further and extend his tenure by two years on the grounds that Nigeria is at war, PM News is reporting.
The APC Ekiti Central senator said this to the Afenifere Renewal Group members that President Jonathan was currently wooing the National assembly, trying to get them to approve his two-year tenure elongation bid.
The paper says that the presidency hasn't responded to the allegations.
Ojudu's words [from PM news]: “If anybody thinks there is going to be elections on March 28, the person is deceiving himself.
All the people that are close to me, especially my friends, I told them a year ago that there would not be election and that they are just deceiving us.
“Some of us who are perceptive have seen this in the body language of our colleagues; the body language of the Senate President himself, David Mark.
When we came back from the summer recess last year, he said that for him, it’s not time for election.
We should not be thinking of elections now, rather we should be thinking of fighting Boko Haram.
The moment we took him up on that, he reversed himself.
“There are conscious attempts at lobbying some of us to work against having elections.
Therefore, where they have got to now is the preliminary stage.
“We will resume next week Tuesday.
I can assure you, they may likely bring a motion asking us to adjourn or postpone the elections for six months because there is an ongoing war.
“The constitution allows this.
The constitution states that where and when there is a war in any corner of the country, the President can bring a motion to the National Assembly to postpone the elections for six months in the first instance and this can be passed by just a simple majority.
“If you think at this time they may not get simple majority, you may be wrong.
This is because 80 per cent of the senators and House of Representatives members are not returning, not out of choice.
Perhaps, I am the only person who is not returning out of choice in the entire National Assembly.
All others attempted but they did not make it.
“This may surprise you, we are all broke.
If they say we want to give you two more years as it is being quietly requested by Jonathan, virtually everybody will vote for that.”
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The APC Ekiti Central senator said this to the Afenifere Renewal Group members that President Jonathan was currently wooing the National assembly, trying to get them to approve his two-year tenure elongation bid.
The paper says that the presidency hasn't responded to the allegations.
Ojudu's words [from PM news]: “If anybody thinks there is going to be elections on March 28, the person is deceiving himself.
All the people that are close to me, especially my friends, I told them a year ago that there would not be election and that they are just deceiving us.
“Some of us who are perceptive have seen this in the body language of our colleagues; the body language of the Senate President himself, David Mark.
When we came back from the summer recess last year, he said that for him, it’s not time for election.
We should not be thinking of elections now, rather we should be thinking of fighting Boko Haram.
The moment we took him up on that, he reversed himself.
“There are conscious attempts at lobbying some of us to work against having elections.
Therefore, where they have got to now is the preliminary stage.
“We will resume next week Tuesday.
I can assure you, they may likely bring a motion asking us to adjourn or postpone the elections for six months because there is an ongoing war.
“The constitution allows this.
The constitution states that where and when there is a war in any corner of the country, the President can bring a motion to the National Assembly to postpone the elections for six months in the first instance and this can be passed by just a simple majority.
“If you think at this time they may not get simple majority, you may be wrong.
This is because 80 per cent of the senators and House of Representatives members are not returning, not out of choice.
Perhaps, I am the only person who is not returning out of choice in the entire National Assembly.
All others attempted but they did not make it.
“This may surprise you, we are all broke.
If they say we want to give you two more years as it is being quietly requested by Jonathan, virtually everybody will vote for that.”
Click here to read more