The Opposition, which is trying to fish in troubled waters, is mooting a No Confidence Motion (NCM) and an Impeachment Motion against the President but observers said it would be a futile attempt.
The observers said, “Past experiences of impeachment attempts clearly show that it is almost impossible to garner enough strength for such a motion in Parliament where the Opposition is divided.”
The Government said it holds over 118 seats in Parliament in the 225-member House; only 113 is needed for a simple majority. An Executive President cannot be removed by a No Confidence Motion against the Government.
Even if the Government loses its simple majority, the Opposition would not be able to muster two-thirds support in the House, as spelt out in the Constitution, for an impeachment motion to succeed and remove a sitting Executive President.
“Given the current arithmetic in Parliament, it is rather impossible that such a process would be successful,” observers added.
According to the Constitution, at least half of the members must sign a notice of Impeachment to the Speaker first, and then the Speaker upon satisfaction would refer it to the Supreme Court to check its constitutional validity and for conclusions of an inquiry by the Supreme Court.
If the Supreme Court concludes that the President is guilty of the allegations, a two-thirds majority is needed to pass the Impeachment in Parliament.