Presidential Succession Order (Section 145)

Background:

A Presidential Succession Act establishes the line of succession to the powers and duties of office of the President such that whenever a President or Vice President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office the next in line in the order takes over and discharges the functions of the office. In the United States, Congressional authority to enact such a law is twofold: Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 of the United States Constitution and Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In Nigeria Presidential and Gubernatorial succession Order is enshrined in sections 145/146 and 190/191 of the 1999 Constitution, for the President and Governors respectively. A cursory look at these provisions to the unlearned mind will appear as if the Constitution has made ample provisions for presidential and gubernatorial succession orders. However, it took almost 3 months indisposition of President Yar’Adua to reveal the inadequacies and the lacuna inherent in the Constitution on presidential succession.

Among all the sections of the constitution dealing with presidential succession in the Constitution, the most volatile and critical is section 145 because of its national security implications. The said section did not clearly provide for what happens if the President is so incapacitated, negligent or bluntly refuses to transmit a written declaration that he is going on medical treatment or vacation as demanded by the section, thereby leading to a vacuum in the leadership of the nation. The implications are numerous including the possibility of a military take over of power since there is no effective Commander-In-Chief to give general directions to the armed forces.

Arguments for the Bill:

This Bill seeks to amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to ensure that power vacuum is not created whenever the President/Governor is absent or temporarily incapacitated by ill-health or howsoever so called so that the ship of State will not be left rudderless as the Vice President of Deputy Governor automatically steps in as Acting President/Governor respectively. This bill has become necessary for the following reasons:

• National Security Implications: By section 218 of the Constitution the President as commander in chief of the armed forces is empowered to determine the operational use of the armed forces. This power is exclusively exercisable by the President or anybody so authorized by him. In the event of a major military incursion either internally or externally a crisis of command will be engendered if there is nobody acting in place of the President.

• Stagnation of Governance: The President as the Constitutional head of the Executive Arm of government has several constitutional, statutory and ceremonial functions to perform for the smooth running of the government. If his role is not immediately filled in his absence for whatever reason, the smooth running of government will be seriously hampered and impeded.

• Need to avoid future constitutional crisis: The constitutional crisis engendered by the inability of President Yar’Adua to transmit a written declaration to the National Assembly almost led to the breakup of the nation. Before the National Assembly finally contrived a resolution to bring the impasse to a close, there were insinuations in certain quarters that the military were planning to take over power. This bill is necessary in order to avoid similar scenarios in the future.

• Entrenchment of Constitutional Democracy: Section 145 of the Constitution was deliberately couched inelegantly in order to ensure that the then Head of State General Sani Abacha who was terminally ill at the time, will not at any point relinquish power to any of his subordinates. This much was revealed by Chief Ojo Maduekwe; the current minister of foreign affairs and one of the drafters of the Constitution. This Bill will help to eliminate such military anachronisms and further entrench constitutional democracy.

• Clear cut mandate to the National Assembly: The bill gives a clear mandate to the National Assembly to act decisively to fill a power vacuum. This will avoid waiting indefinitely for a recalcitrant or mischievous and irresponsible president who wants to plunge the nation into chaos and anarchy. This is more so in Nigeria where people place personal and ethnic interests far above national interests. President George Bush of the United States did not waste time in handing over power to his Vice President when he was undergoing an operation that will last for barely 2 hours.

Conclusion:

An improperly defined Presidential succession order as contained in the Constitution is an accident waiting to happen. Now is the time to rethink our system of presidential succession, not within or after a succession crisis. Presidential succession provisions are triggered by events that could tear the very core of our nation's political stability as could be seen from President Yar’Adua’s ill-health. Therefore the need for a smooth, lawful, and constitutional transition of power is of utmost importance in our young democracy, and must be addressed before they occur again. We must therefore take this opportunity and instil confidence in the government and our people who solely depend on our good sense of judgment. This Bill therefore is a proper step in that direction.