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The Vice President
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has arrived the Eagle
Square for the swearing-in ceremony of the Buhari administration’s second term.
Osinbajo arrived
alongside the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.
The Vice President
arrived the venue at exactly 9:43 and in company of his wife, Dolapo
(nee-Solade) Osinbajo.
President Muhammadu
Buhari and Osinbajo defeated their counterparts of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Peter Obi, in the 2019
presidential election.
The Vice
President-elect and the President-elect submitted their assets declaration
forms to Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, on Tuesday evening, and are set to take
the oath of office for their second term.
May 29: SERAP sends letter to Buhari, makes demands
On a day his second
term in office will officially kick off, the Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to
“publicly commit to making every day count in his second term stay in Aso
Rock”.
SERAP urged Buhari
to ensure that every segment of his government’s daily operations is lawful and
rule-of-law compliant, for the sake of fairness, justice, your legacy, and the
success of his anti-corruption agenda.
This was contained
in a letter dated 29 May 2019 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole
Oluwadare, to President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of his inauguration for a second
term in office.
The organization
expressed: “serious concerns that the results of the ‘rule of law MOT’ in the
past four years are uniquely damaging to your government’s fight against
corruption and to the country.”
The letter read:
“Making a public commitment to dedicate every day of your second term as a
‘Rule of Law’ day will help to ensure that decisions of our courts are fully obeyed,
refocus, improve and reinforce the anti-corruption agenda. It will also serve
as a reminder that no one has immunity from the law, not even the government.
“The deficits in
the rule of law have been particularly notable in three areas: failure to obey
decisions of Nigerian courts, failure to push for transparency in asset
declarations by high-ranking public officials and failure to push for
unexplained wealth orders against former presidents and former governors and
other senior public officials suspected of living on proceeds of corruption and
‘dirty money’.”
“We urge you to use
the opportunity of your second term to begin to implement your oft-expressed
commitment to the rule of law by immediately obeying decisions of Nigerian
courts, promoting transparency in asset declarations by publishing widely
details of your assets declaration, encouraging Vice-President Professor Yemi
Osinbajo to do the same, and instructing all your ministers to publish their
asset declarations.
“We also urge you
to immediately instruct your next Attorney General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice to pursue unexplained wealth court orders against all
former presidents (and their estates), former governors, former presidents of
the Senate and former speakers of the House of Representatives aimed at forcing
those of them suspected of living on proceeds of corruption and ‘dirty money’
to reveal sources of their fortune or risk forfeiting it.
“Nigeria’s
democracy ought to have as its foundation respect for human rights and the rule
of law. Treating the decisions of Nigerian courts as not binding is
antithetical to any contemporary notion of the rule of law and democracy, and
clearly counter-productive to the fight against corruption.
“Ignoring or
refusing to obey decisions of our courts is implicitly rendering the judiciary
powerless to enforce constitutional and legal rights, violating separation of
powers, undermining the rule of law, and ultimately, raising serious question
marks on the government’s commitment to fight grand corruption.
“Democracy is an
inherent element of the rule of law, and obeying decisions of the courts,
pushing for transparency of high-ranking government officials and going after
former senior officials suspected of living on proceeds of corruption and
‘dirty money’ are closely connected with the existence and consolidation of
democracy, good governance and development.
“Persistent
disobedience of decisions of our courts by the government has opened the way
for many state governors to do the same within their states including by using
anti-media laws to suppress the civic space, target journalists and human
rights defenders, grant to themselves pensions for life and commit grand
corruption and other appalling atrocities.
“High-profile
judgments your government is refusing to obey include at least two judgments
obtained by SERAP. The first is the judgment by Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari
ordering the government to tell Nigerians about the stolen asset it allegedly
recovered, with details of the amounts recovered. The second judgment, by
Justice Mohammed Idris, ordered the government to publish details on the
spending of stolen funds recovered by successive governments since the return
of democracy in 1999.
“Another court
order that is yet to be complied with is the order for the release of Islamic
Movement of Nigeria leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenah,
from unlawful detention, obtained by human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, Femi Falana.”
May 29: What Nigerians should expect from Buhari’s second term – Sen.
Alimikhena
The Senate Deputy
Chief Whip, Francis Alimikhena, has said Nigerians should look forward to a
more purposeful government in the renewed four-year mandate given to President
Muhammadu Buhari by the Nigerian people.
The senator
representing Edo North Senatorial District, stated this in a statement by his
media assistant, Mr Ben Atu, in Benin on Wednesday, NAN reports.
He said that Buhari
had, during his first term in office, demonstrated statesmanship, trust, and
dedication to service to humanity and would use the renewed four-year mandate
to consolidate on his achievements.
“President
Muhammadu Buhari has shown steadfastness with his promise that he was indeed
for nobody but for everybody by giving voice to the collective aspirations and
yearnings of Nigerians.
“We may not have
gotten to where we want to be, but we are also not in the same place where we
use to be as a country,” he said.
While commending
the President for his humility in victory, the senator said, “President Buhari
have served his pact with Nigerians and it behooves on Nigerians to stand
together in adversity and overcome the threat to our national development.”
He appealed to all
those stoking the embers of discord at various levels and quarters of the
Nigerian state to “embrace peace for the purpose of our common destiny”.
According to him,
destiny has placed a burden on the Nigerian people to work together for peace
and unity of the country, adding that this should be done “irrespective of our
religious and political divides.
“We must rise to
the occasion and salvage our country from retrogression collectively and
individually.
“Nigeria belongs to
Nigerians and not any individual. It is wrong to subject the country to an
unusual unrest to satisfy individual ambitions.
“We must together
forge a common front for the peace, progress, and stability of our country.
“Democracy cannot
be achieved without opposition, but we must also be challenged with the fact
that there is no government better than that in which everybody is involved
irrespective of party platforms.
“Good governance is
the elimination of premodial sentiments by upholding public interest above
party affiliations.
“We must be our
brother’s keeper by putting aside petty bickering and work together for the
common good of our çountry.
“We need to embrace
our democracy by harnessing our collective strength, rather than partisan
political strife which has impinged upon our developmental efforts in the past
years.
“The Inauguration
of president Buhari today, should mark the end of partisan politics and
bifurcating bickering among political gladiators.
“Elections have
come and gone, good governance is what Nigerians expect from all of us
irrespective of the positions we occupy or the party that we belong.
“Our core business
is to safeguard the collective interest of all Nigerians.”
Breaking: President Buhari and VP Yemi Osinbajo sworn-in for second
term (Photos)
President Muhammadu
Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have been sworn in for their second
term by CJN Tanko Mohammed at an event holding at Eagle Square, Abuja.
![Buhari’s inauguration: Vice President-elect, Osinbajo, Saraki, Dogara arrive Eagle Square [PHOTOS]](https://dailypost.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/car-park.jpg)
