What started in the House of Representatives as a plot to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Goodluck Jonathan has spread to the Senate, according to indications yesterday.
A growing number of Senators are said to be enthusiastic to team up with the Reps to get the President impeached.
One hundred and thirty Reps were known to have signed up to support the plot on Thursday, but by yesterday, the figure had risen up to 148, sources close to the bid said.
The plot was sparked by alleged growing impunity by the Federal Government, the latest being Thursday’s attack on the National Assembly by armed policemen who tear-gassed Reps and denied Speaker Aminu Tambuwal access to the Chamber.
Senate sources said yesterday that some senators were inclined to get President Jonathan impeached.
The arrow heads of the plot in the Senate are from the Northeast where the President proposes to extend the emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.
The arrow heads, one source said, have been meeting to plan how to convince and win other senators to buy into and support the pro-impeachment lawmakers.
The source said “things will get clearer by Tuesday 25 when the Senate will resume plenary.
But the source could not confirm if a register is already in place for interested senators to indicate their willingness to join the plot.
I know of a fact that there have been series of clandestine meetings where the plot was mooted, he said.
The senators say Jonathan must go to “save the country from unbridled impunity” by President Jonathan.
The source described Thursday’s invasion of the National Assembly as “the height of impunity that must not be condoned by right thinking Nigerians.”
The Senate leadership is said to be labouring to calm frayed nerves.
A South West Senator who spoke on the plot noted that it is obvious “things will no longer be the same in the National Assembly.
He said: “At this stage, it is still a matter of wait and see. Things can no longer be what they used to be. Even the most conservative in the Senate were agitated by the action of the police yesterday (Thursday). The police could not have acted without order from above.
In the House of Representatives, more members are said to be considering joining the 148 that have already indicated their willingness to be part of the impeachment process
Many Reps are still aggrieved by the Thursday action of the Police which they cite as one of the several impunities of the Jonathan administration.
Since 1999, this is the first time in the history of democracy that such a thing has happened, a Rep said of the attack
The motion for impeachment may be moved as early as the 3rd of December, it was learnt.
It was also gathered that the legal team of the Speaker may head to the court on Monday to file a contempt of court case against the President and the Police over the invasion of the National Assembly.
According to a source, the Speaker is hinging his action on the fact that a court ruling exists that asks all parties to maintain the status quo over the issue of defection.
The legal team would look at the possibility of getting the court to declare that the action of the Presidency/Police is subjudice.
Also yesterday, the Minority Leader of the House and the leader of the APC Caucus in then Green Chamber, Femi Gbajabiamila, vowed that the opposition will not go to sleep in the House.
In a statement entitled: We Will Continue to be Vigilant Against Unlawful Tactics of Jonathan, Gbajamiamila expressed sadness over the events that led himself and other members into scaling over the National Assembly gate before gaining entrance into the National Assembly on Thursday.
He said: What happened in the National Assembly yesterday (Thursday) will forever live in infamy. Never thought I would see the day when I would be forced to go over the assembly gates where I work to gain access into the chambers. But then our democracy has to be saved.
Gbajabiamila expressed surprise that the Presidency, through its agents, could undermine a court injunction restraining them from acting against the Speaker,
It was pretty clear the Presidency in spite of a court injunction wanted to do something sinister and illegal. They perfected the plot to stop the Speaker and the opposition leader from gaining entry.
My members were already in chambers waiting for me to come in so as to provide leadership and direction. Most of them had gone over the gate too. I had to do the needful to save our democracy. We thank God we foiled their evil machinations. We will continue to be vigilant.
Meanwhile, The Nation learnt that PDP members in the House are under fire from the Party and the Presidency for not delivering on the plan to remove Tambuwal on Thursday.
According to a source, the strategy was to hijack the plenary after the Speaker might have been prevented from gaining access into the National Assembly by the Police who were deployed by the Inspector General of Police for that purpose.
Trusted lawmakers from the PDP, with no allegiance to the Speaker, would then seize the House, and impeach the Speaker. The police would provide them cover and the Presidency would grant immediate recognition to the new Speaker, who naturally would have been the Deputy Speaker.
However, the plan was thwarted by the vigilance of the opposition lawmakers, who smuggled Tambuwal into the Chamber, where he took charge of proceedings before the PDP lawmakers could act.
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