You can’t impeach Jonathan, southern groups warn reps

 
A coalition of socio-cultural groups from the South-East, South-South and South-West geopolitical regions have warned members of the National Assembly to halt what it described as an orchestrated plot to force President Goodluck Jonathan out of office or face the consequences of their unpopular action. 

The development followed an ultimatum issued to Jonathan by the House of Representatives to fully implement the 2012 budget by the end of next month or face impeachment for gross misconduct. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had, however, said the resolution was unrealistic. But rising from a consultative meeting yesterday in Abuja, which was attended by representatives of some socio-cultural groups from the three geopolitical zones from the southern part of the country, the coalition expressed the readiness of the South to effectively counter any move to coerce or humiliate President Jonathan out of office. 

The groups are South-South and South West Mandate, Ndigbo Cosultative Forum, Fourth Force and Niger Delta Justice and Mass Movement Speaking with journalists after the meeting which lasted about two hours, interim leader of the coalition, Mr. Zuokumor Tito, expressed dismay that the masterminds of the impeachment plot in the lower chamber of the National Assembly were acting a script in furtherance of the determination of some disgruntled northern political leaders to abort the legitimate tenure of Jonathan through violence or any other means. 

“It is a known fact that the Boko Haram insurgency was deliberately masterminded by these enemies of progress and national stability to create a scenario of insecurity and portray President Jonathan as incompetent to govern the country. Perhaps, feeling that the motive was not being achieved on time, they are now trying to use the House of Representatives to use budget implementation as a plank to achieve their unpatriotic agenda. 

“God forbid, but let me warn that if they force Jonathan out of office through this deliberately created insecurity or any other flimsy excuse, they would know that no section of this country has a monopoly of violence. The South, particularly the Niger Delta people have the ability to create artificial insecurity and if necessary, completely shut down the economy of the nation, because no single drop of oil from the Niger Delta region would be used to run another government. Enough is enough,” Tito warned. 

He contended that President Jonathan’s humane disposition and strict adherence to the dictates of the rule of law and preservation of national unity should not be misconstrued as inability to tackle the prevailing security challenges facing the nation, just as he accused some members of the National Assembly and northern political leaders of engaging in double standards on the issue of national security. 

His words: “When there was insecurity in the Niger Delta region, no one called for impeachment of the president in power even as the agitations were genuine unlike the case of Boko Haram which we consider as a secret violent political party with highly placed and influential individuals in the country as members, fighting at all cost to unseat a democratically elected president.