Buhari calls emergency security meeting after senators threatened to impeach him

Following the impeachment threat by Nigerian lawmakers over the country’s security situation, President Muhammadu Buhari has called an emergency security meeting with the National Security Council.

On Wednesday, July 27, 2022, the lawmakers, led by Senate Minority Leader, Philip Aduda (PDP, FCT), staged a walkout after Senate President Ahmad Lawan shut down a move to debate the recent security challenges in the country.

Why Senators Want Buhari Impeached: Earlier, Aduda had during a closed session raised a point of order requesting that the President be given a six-week ultimatum to address the country’s security challenges or get impeached.

“Mr. President, you may wish to recall that during the closed session, we discussed the issues as they relate to security in the country and all the issues around it.

“We had also discussed that we are going to come back to plenary to discuss the efforts that have been made so far on the issue of security in the country, after which we give an ultimatum to the president that he resolves this issue, otherwise we give an impeachment notice,” the lawmaker said.

But Lawan rejected the order, saying Aduda did not discuss it with him.

Angered by the ruling, senators from opposition parties led by the Minority Leader, walked out of the plenary, chanting “All we are saying is, Buhari must go, Nigeria must survive.”

FG Confirms Security Meeting: Reacting to the development yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, while fielding questions from journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House assured Nigerians that the government was working round the clock to address the security challenges in the country.

He said, “Resolution passed by Senators, as rightly said, it was passed when we were deliberating, but we thank them for their patriotism and their concern, but we are working round the clock, 24 hours, to ensure that the situation is brought under control.

“I want to assure you that the president is aware of all these and as a matter of fact, I think tomorrow, there’s going to be another Security Council meeting. So, it’s not a matter the president is taking lightly and like I’ll always say, some of the measures we’re going to take are not measures that you can discuss openly here, but we’re as concerned as you are, we’re not going to abandon our responsibility.”

On bandits' Recent Threat: Mohammed also dismissed the threat by terrorists to kidnap President Buhari, saying it is mere propaganda.

“As to those who have issued threats to Mr. President, I think it’s more of propaganda than anything. It’s laughable,” he said.

However, while the walkout was staged by PDP lawmakers, the move to impeach Buhari is believed to be a collective decision of all the senators.

According to Daily Trust, Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi West) said none of the senators who attended the plenary opposed the impeachment threat.