National Assembly Draws Battle Line With President Buhari, Threaten Impeachment

The Senate and the House of Representatives sent warning signals to President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, saying that he must halt ongoing killings in the country and stop using the police to intimidate political opponents.

They said if the trend continued, the National Assembly would invoke its constitutional powers.

Both chambers held a joint executive session, which lasted for over two hours before making 12 resolutions.

The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, presided over the joint session.

The resolutions taken at the session were read out by Saraki after the closed-door session ended.

Although, the word impeachment was not mentioned in the resolutions, it was implied in the 12th resolution.

The National Assembly stated, “And if nothing is done, the National Assembly will not hesitate to invoke its powers against the Executive.”

A senior National Assembly official said the interpretation of the invocation of the federal lawmakers power against Buhari “is impeachment.”

He added, “It means impeachment. We have given the President ample opportunity to improve on security and all the issues listed in our resolutions.

“At the executive session, senators and members were on the same page on the position that if the President does not improve on his style and the security situation in the country in the weeks ahead, impeachment proceedings will become the option.”

The source, who explained what the National Assembly meant by invoking its power, said the lawmakers were giving the President two to three weeks to implement the resolutions.