Church Gift: ACN wants Nigerian President Impeached

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The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has asked the
National Assembly to commence impeachment
proceedings against President Goodluck Jonathan,
having admitted openly that he solicited a bribe from a
foreign construction company, in violation of the
Constitution that he swore to uphold.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by its
National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the
party said commencing the impeachment proceedings
will enable the National Assembly to
investigate the matter and also reach the appropriate
conclusions, since the President, by his own admission
and without any prompting, has thumbed his nose at
the Constitution.

”To know the gravity of the President’s self admission
of soliciting the church ‘gift’ from the Managing Director
of Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited (GCG), one
needs to understand Section 6 of
the Code of Conduct for Public officers embodied in the
First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution and the Code of
Conduct and Tribunal Act (CAP C15) Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
”The Act states: ‘A public officer shall not ask for or
accept any property or benefits of any kind for himself
or any other person on account of anything done or
omitted to be done by him in the discharge
of his duties. For the purposes of subsection (1) of this
subsection, the receipt by a public officer of any gifts or
benefits from commercial firms, business enterprises or
persons who have contracts with the Government shall
be presumed to have been received in contravention…
unless the contrary is proved’,” it said.
ACN said by his improper and unfortunate action, the
President has also undermined the country’s fight
against corruption and put Nigeria’s democracy in
jeopardy, hence must not be allowed to get away
with such an egregious act.

”Gitto has obtained billions of contracts from the
Nigerian government, amid reported allegations in the
media that it has not executed such contracts well. How
can the federal government hold the company
to account, when it (firm) has obtained an ”insurance
cover” by bribing the President? Is this not why the
country’s anti-corruption efforts have not achieved
anything? Can the EFCC and
the ICPC honestly and boldly fight corruption when the
President is knee-deep in the mud of corruption?” it
queried.
The party said by openly and gleefully saying, at the
inauguration of the church at his Otuoke hometown,
that ”the managing director of Gitto made him a
promise to build and donate the church to Otuoke
community after he (the president) had complained of
the aging structure of his church,” the President has
demonstrated that he is either not conversant with the
Constitution he swore to uphold or thinks very little of
the laws of the land.
”Either way, he should be held accountable for his
deeds,” it said.

ACN said it would amount to wishful thinking to expect
the country’s anti-corruption agencies to probe
President Jonathan’s admission of soliciting and
receiving bribery, hence the call on the National
Assembly to handle the issue.
The party warned that ongoing attempts to twist the
facts and make it seem as if the President did not solicit
the bribe will not work, as Nigerians are too smart to
be hoodwinked.
”If the President and his supporters deny that he indeed
solicited the bribe – as he admitted at the inauguration
of the church – we challenge the presidency to play –
on national radio and television – the
unedited audio and video recording of his speech at the
occasion for all Nigerians to hear and see. Experts must
also be called in to verify that the tape has not been
tampered with in any way,” the party said.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)