PDP urges National Assembly to address Buhari’s UK trip

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of “shrouding his private visit to London as official.”

In a statement signed by the PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the opposition party described as astonishing the fact that President Buhari did not transmit a letter to the National Assembly, indicating that he was going on a week vacation ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting. 

The PDP demanded that the National Assembly should save the nation from an imminent constitutional crisis by immediately commencing processes to address the “current power vacuum in the country, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to embark on a private trip abroad without officially transmitting power to the Vice President.”

According to the party, the intervention of the federal legislature has become a national imperative, as the President’s action has put the nation in clear danger. 

Nigeria is at the moment bereft of statutory leadership, including the apparatus of security command, particularly as President Buhari had not indicated a date of return to the country.

It expressed worries that in the event of any national emergency, there is no sitting commander-in-chief to take charge.

The statement reads in part: “It is incontrovertible that President Buhari is on a private trip to the United Kingdom (UK) as he was not received on arrival, by the government of that country; has not had any contact with the British Prime Minister, Theresa May or any high officials of the UK government and has not conducted any official business since his arrival to the country on Monday.”