A civil rights movement, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), on Wednesday, advised the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to resign from office if he feels too ‘weak or tired’ to govern,
The organisation stated that rather than allow others to misuse and abuse the office to which he had been elected, the honourable thing Buhari should do is to step aside.
The advice came on the heels of the leaked correspondence between the President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari and the National Security Adviser, Babagana Munguno on security matters.
“As far as he (Abba Kyari) has not been elected President, it is tantamount to impersonation to be using the back-door antics to assume the position of President. For us, such acts are treasonable, treacherous, rebellious, disloyal and subversive because they are perpetrated in defiance and disregard of the Nigerian constitution”, CHRICED stated.
CHRICED insisted that
“the usurpation of Presidential powers by an unelected impostor no matter how close to the corridors of power in Aso Rock, stands rejected by the people.”
The correspondence birthed an alleged issuance of unlawful orders in a memo by the NSA to service chiefs on the nation’s security.
The Executive Director of CHRICED, Ibrahim Zikirullahi threw the challenge to Buhari in a statement in Abuja, in which he condemned an alleged corruption in the Presidency.
According to him, the Presidency has been hijacked by persons out to satisfy their personal interests not minding the implications of their actions on the citizenry.
Zikirullahi demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of Abba Kyari for treason and for ruling the country in Buhari’s stead.
The activist described the meddling of the CoS in matters of the Nigerian State as proof that the nation’s security has been compromised, while the lives of the common man in the rank and file of the Armed Forces have been carelessly jeopardised.
Zikirullahi said,
“CHRICED is seriously dismayed by the latest indications from the Presidency pointing at the unacceptable usurpation, and misuse of Presidential powers by Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
“Even more disturbing is the indication of how the nation’s security architecture has been seriously undermined by such shenanigans. As would be seen from the memo authored by the NSA, Babagana Munguno to service chiefs detailing serious breaches of communication lines, and the issuing of unlawful orders and other infractions, which have distorted the effectiveness of the security architecture of the country, there is no mistaking the fact that the institution of the Presidency, which belongs to the people of Nigeria, has been hijacked to advance self-centred and self-serving interests.
“CHRICED strongly condemns the corruption of the Presidency as an institution, and its use by an unelected official to pursue narrow objectives, which are antithetical to the national interest. At a time the country is at war on all fronts, and defenseless citizens are being slaughtered by terrorists, bandits, robbers and kidnappers, these are not the kinds of vibes the people of Nigeria deserve.
“Going by the weighty issues raised in the said memo by the NSA, and their implications for the security of lives and properties of citizens, CHRICED calls for immediate arrest and prosecution of Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President who has been masquerading as de-facto President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“If President Buhari feels that he is too weak or tired to take charge of governance, which he is elected to do by the people, the best alternative would be to resign his office as President, rather than subject the nation to ridicule by allowing Abba kyari-led cabal to hijack machinery of governance in the country, particularly tampering with the nation’s security.”
The organisation called on the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council to “live up to their oath of offices by taking drastic measure to arrest the drift in the Presidency in order to save our democracy and restore effective governance.”
