Ibrahim Shekarau, the Kano State governor, yesterday debunked claims by some state governors that they have recently met with ailing president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Mr. Shekarau, who spoke on Radio Kano programme, Da Bazar Ku, said that none of the 36 state governors in the country has seen Mr. Yar’Adua since November 2009.
“None of the members of the Governors’ Forum can claim to have seen President Umaru Yar’Adua so far,” he said, adding that all of the governors only wish the bedridden president to recover his health.
The governor defended the decision of governors to support the idea of vesting presidential powers on Goodluck Jonathan, even though ‘there is nothing like acting president in the constitution’.
“In the constitution, there is nothing like acting president or acting governor,” he said. “It was not the spirit and letter of the constitution that guided their decision but the doctrine of necessity and their sense of right and wrong.
“In a situation whereby the president is around in the country, and cannot run the affairs of government, the constitution remains silent. Even a judge sometimes uses conscience to adjudicate”.
Dissolved executive
Mr. Shekarau also supported the recent dissolution of Executive Council of the Federation. He said the reality that the council was divided and for the country to move forward there was need for it to be restructured. “I think a divided FEC (Execuitive Council of the Federation) can’t deliver the best to the nation,” he said.
Mr. Shekarau also said that the governors cautioned Mr. Jonathan to ensure that he did not take any decision that would threaten the peaceful coexistence of the nation.
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