Rising disquiet over Buhari’s unending vacation in UK

• CNN ridicules President’s 87 days absence from Nigeria

About 87 days President Muhammadu Buhari has been on medical vacation in London, United Kingdom, disquiets have begun to rise over his protracted absence from Nigeria.

A group had, penultimate week, contended that the President could only go on vacation for only 43 days in one year; classifying President Buhari as being in the civil service of the country.

Another set of stakeholders in the Nigerian project also rose to contend that the President could spend not more than 60 days on vacation in one year; classifying President Buhari as a public servant.

Both groups contended that spending beyond these days in one vacation could be sufficient grounds to raise the issue of incapacitation on the President.

However, another stakeholder in the polity and chieftain of   the National Conscience Party (NCP), Martin Onovo, speaking to National Daily, cautioned that there are only four ways through which the President or Governor can be removed from office. He identified these four ways as resignation, death, impeachment or being declared incapacitated by a member of the Federal Executive Council, thereafter, the procedure for his removal commences.  “None of these processes has occurred,” he declared; admonishing that nobody should create any additional process not prescribed by the constitution.

ALSO SEE: CNN mocks Nigeria over Buhari’s continued absence

There was the consensus among the various advocates that vacation of public office holders is not infinite. They admitted that the incapacitation option may arise when the vacation becomes so prolonged to affect governance, particularly, when the office holder has been known to be very ill.

 From March 7 to August 1, 2017, President Buhari has been outside the shores of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has been coordinating the federal government in the post 87 days with constraints or limitation of executive powers imposed by certain principal officers in the Presidency exploiting the President’s absence for personal gains.

Meanwhile, National Daily gathered that an international media organisation, Cable News Network (CNN), on Sunday, expanded the frontiers of ridiculing the Nigerian President in the global village, raising a mockery question over the President Buhari’s absence from Nigeria.

The CNN had in its foreign affairs program – “The Global Public Square” (GPS), said to be anchored by Fareed Zakaria, raised the poser: “The head of state from which country has not set foot in his homeland in over two months?”

The cable News Network was gathered to have provided options to the answer which include Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Syria; and identifying Nigeria out as the correct answer.

The poser has become a mockery issue in the international community.

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