The President Goodluck Jonathan’s camp have denied any attempts aimed at initiating impeachment move for the Speaker of the House of Representative, Aminu Tambuwal as the presidency tries its hand on improving the embittered relationship between the two legislative chambers.
It came to the fore the the presidency through the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak, visited the House of Representatives to negotiate for truce with some of the aggrieved representatives.
Gulak insisted that the president never initiated nor thought of removing the speaker as he described the insinuations as “figment of people’s imagination.”
“He supports the stabilisation of the National Assembly. All these stories are figments of people’s imagination, especially those who believe that they ought to be in the lead in this country and not part of the present leadership”, he said.
However, a source in the National Assembly said there are indications that Gulak “must have come to the National Assembly to see how they can improve on their relations”.
“The Presidency will not be comfortable with any issues that may further heat up the polity. There is an urgent need to work on the relations between the two arms of government.
The source also disclosed that the Presidency is also set to visit the Senate which also paid attention to Baraje- led New PDP team in a visit to the Senate recently, though did not reveal the slated date for the visit.
While speaking with journalists after his visit to the House of Representatives, Gulak had further said he had to visit the legislators to discuss the process of moving the country forward as he has not been to the house in the last two years.
“The purpose of my visit is part of the processes of trying to meet our friends, discuss with them and move the country forward.
“We intended to meet the speaker but unfortunately he is not around. My visit today (Wednesday) is part of moves to cement the relationship between the Legislature and Executive which is normal.
“You know Mr. President will never support destabilising the National Assembly. You will agree with me that this President we have will never support any move to destabilise the National Assembly.
“The National Assembly is a pillar of this administration that stabilises the polity. Destabilising it will not be good for the country and Mr. President is aware of that and he has taken that upon himself not to destabilise or support anything that will destabilise the National Assembly”, he added.
He also reacted to the rumors that the presidency was planning to specifically to bribe each lawmaker with the sum of the $25,000 saying that it is not true and “it can never be true”.
The presidential aide added, “There is nothing like New PDP; I always say that there is no political crisis in Nigeria. What we are witnessing is mad pursuit of unrealizable ambition by few people who are blinded by ambition; who cannot see anything good in their own country; and have refused to know that this country is governed by law.”
Describing the nature of the president, Gulak stated thus: “You know Mr. President is a different President; please and please, and I plead with you to see him as who he is.
“He says what he means and means what he says. Since he became President, he is the only one whose tenure has not been involved in the so- called banana peels in the National Assembly” he pointed out.
Findings indicated that Gulak’s mission was to meet with the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, and some principal officers over the legislature-executive face-off.
However, it was gathered that Gulak could not meet Tambuwal during his visit as the speaker was not available but, he was able to meet and discuss with some selected lawmakers of the lower chamber.
It could be recall that it is barely a week that Jonathan sacked the Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Mrs. Joy Emodi after the visit of the National Chairman of the splinter faction of Peoples Democratic Party also called the New PDP and the G-7 faction to the National Assembly.