Teaching Comparative

Rule of Law in Nigeria

This al Jazeera report suggests that a test of the status of the rule of law in Nigeria might come before next spring's election of a new president

Sacked Nigerian deputy defiant

"The dismissed vice-president of Nigeria has written to officials stating that he is still in office.

 "Atiku Abubakar has in a statement said that he remains the nation's vice-president and asked officials to 'disregard' his removal from office by the president on Saturday.

"Abubakar said the president's decision runs 'contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution'.
 
"Olusegun Obasanjo, the Nigerian president, declared the office of vice-president vacant on Saturday, following Abubakar's defection to the rival AC party ahead of elections in April 2007.

"Abubakar sent letters to officials... [that] said: 'It has come to my attention that president Olusegun Obasanjo has declared my office vacant and has also announced the withdrawal of my rights and privileges as the vice president of Nigeria. The president claimed to have based his unconstitutional action on my emergence as the presidential candidate of the Action Congress [AC].'
 
"The letters also said that the president was not entitled 'to remove his deputy who was elected with him by the Nigerian people'.
 
"He said: 'The only choice available to the president... is to report me to the National Assembly or to seek clarification from a competent court of law...  I urge you therefore to disregard my purported removal from office and ensure the sanctity of our constitution.'...

"However, the ruling party cited constitutional rules stating that the vice-president must belong to the same party as the president.
 
"The PDP had already suspended Abubakar last September after he was indicted on corruption charges by the country's anti-graft agency, the economic and financial crimes commission..."

posted by Ken Wedding @ 10:19 AM