by Premium Times
Senate president David Mark is to send a letter to President Jonathan calling for urgent action.
In a decision that may unnerve the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, the Senate on Wednesday approved a resolution urging an immediate appeal against the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroun, a day after President Goodluck Jonathan said the decision stands.
Senators overwhelmingly rejected the International Court of Justice’s ruling on Bakassi, and criticized Mr. Jonathan’s commitment to it at a debate that appeared to unfurl a decade-old frustration with the ruling.
Mr. Jonathan, who is attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on Tuesday, reaffirmed Nigeria’s approval of the ruling in a conciliatory speech that has sparked condemnations back home.
Separately, government officials have also hinted at the administration’s disinterest with reopening the final appeal window on the case which shuts October 10.
Senate president, David Mark, said on Wednesday that Mr. Jonathan’s position notwithstanding, it should be made clear that Nigeria has rejected the ruling. Mr. Mark said he will personally dispatch a letter to the president to underscore the urgency of the case.
“In spite of what the president said at the UN, we still have not accepted the ICJ judgment, though we obeyed it as a law-abiding nation,” Mr. Mark said. “There is a lot of pressure at home and we will revisit the letters and see what we can do. From our own side, we reject the judgment.”
If the president chooses to act on the resolution, he now has two weeks to mandate his officials to institute the appeal on the premise of fresh evidences backing Nigeria’s claim to the territory.
The president has barely emerged from an embarrassing currency restructuring episode in which he reneged on, after intense public outcry and the National Assembly.
Foremost writer, Elechi Amadi, on Tuesday called for the president’s impeachment if he failed to order the appeal.
“I cringe with sheer horror at the fact that the federal government can abandon without qualms, a group of Nigerians large enough to make up a Local Government Area which is recognized in the constitution,” Mr. Elechi said in Port Harcourt.
At an arousing session Wednesday, the senate said the process leading to the eventual ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon in 2006 by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration was illegal and unconstitutional.
The resolution came through a motion moved by the Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi. Senators criticized the transfer that made no effort at seeking the consent of the people.
“If the Nigerian state cannot protect the state, the Senate should do so. We must have another look at the treaty making process, with the ongoing constitution review. Let us take advantage of the window which Article 61 provides”, Victor Ndoma-Egba, Senate Leader said.
Even with an appeal, some lawmakers feared a dithering federal government with hands literally forced on the case, may opt for a shoddy representation.
“We have barely less than two weeks for an appeal and we have two options; one is to appeal the judgment while the second option is to go back to Bakassi and repossess it,” said Heineken Lokpoibiri, who represents Bayelsa state.
Short Link:
6 commentsOn Senate Asks Jonathan to “Immediately” Appeal Bakassi Ceding
Also…Goats assault you understand?….damn that ain’t cool,
could be forced to eliminate them apart from to craft things.
Hello, I read your blog on a гegulaг basis.
Your story-telling style is ωitty, keep doing what уou’re doing!
I do not even know how I ended up right here, however I thought this submit was good.
I do not recognize who you are however certainly
you’re going to a well-known blogger in case you are not already. Cheers!
My brother recommended I might like this website. He was totally right. This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
THE SANATE FOR THE SINGLE REASON THAT IT SHOULD NOT BE SAID THAT THEY DID NOT TRY, CAME UP WITH THIS.WHY WAIT TWO WEEKS TO GO. WHEN PRINCIPAL MEMBERS OF THIS SANATE HAVE BEING HERE FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
REALLY TRYING VERY HARD TO BE ON THE GOOD SIDE OF HISTORY. MOST OF THEM SUPPORTED THE THIRD TERM AGENDA AND REFUSE TO REPRESENT THE GOOD PEOPLE OF BAKASSI AND CROSS RIVER GENERALLY. WHY DERIDE OBJ NOW WHEN THEY ALL FOUGHT AND WHERE READY TO DIE FOR HIM.
HISTORY WILL STILL HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE.
This is a very good development concerning the Bakassi imbroglio. Recall that the House of Representatives passed a similiar resolution directing the Federal Government of Nigeria to apply for a review of the obnoxious judgment of the International Court of Nigeria delivered on the 10th October 2002 concerning the sovereignty of the Bakassi peninsula. However the Federal Government through the Minister of Information , Labaran Maku dismissed the resolution of the House of Representatives as non binding. This stance of the Minister drew the ire of the Senate which invited the Minister to the floor of the Senate to warn him on his predilection to making reckless utterances on matters of national importance. However it seems the executive branch of the Federal Government under President Jonathan is not really keen in complying with the resolution of the House of Representatives. Just two days ago while addressing the General Assembly of the Heads of States and Governments of the United Nations categorically declared that the Federal Government of Nigeria shall continue to obey the Judgment of the International Court of Justice concerning Bakassi Peninsula. The declaration of President Jonathan is particularly worrisome because it is the executive branch of the Federal Government that is constitutionally empowered to take decision whether or not the country should apply for a review of the judgment of the International Court of Justice. Meanwhile we have just about 14 days or so to the expiry of the ten years deadline which a State Party has to apply for a review of the Judgment of the International Court of Justice by virtue of Article 61 of the States of the International Court of Justice. The pertient question: Are the resolutions of both Houses of the National Assembly binding on the Federal Government of Nigeria ? The answer is in the negative. Resolutions of the National Assembly are not binding on the Federal Government or the executive branch of government. These resolutions do not have the force of law. The Federal Government may take advantage of this to ignore the resolutions of the National Assembly on review of the judgment concerning the Bakassi Peninsula. It is non compliance with the resolutions of the National Assembly may likely cause a row between the National Assembly and the executive branch of the Federal Government.
Mobile Sliding Menu