Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church in Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare, says Prof Yemi Osinbajo should leave if is not allowed to perform his role as the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Bakare, however, said he did not believe reports that Osinbajo was being handicapped in office and not allowed to perform his constitutional role, adding that he would like to hear directly from the horse’s mouth.
The cleric spoke on Tuesday night in an Instagram Live Chat with popular journalist, Dele Momodu, monitored by The PUNCH.
He said, “I do not know if that statement is true that he is not allowed to perform because the constitution is very clear on what the role of the vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is, especially as it relates to steering the economy of the nation.”
Bakare was the running mate to Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) in the 2011 presidential election. The duo, which ran under the banner of the Congress for Progressive Change, lost to former President Goodluck Jonathan and Namadi Sambo of the Peoples Democratic Party.
In 2015, Buhari ran again, this time with Osinbajo as his running mate, and won under the banner of All Progressives Congress.
Bakare said he asked Buhari for specific details of his role when he ran with his then political ally in 2011.
“Before I accepted General Muhammadu Buhari’s offer, I said what would be my role because I am not prepared to be a spare tyre and he said to me that my role will be as prescribed by the constitution and as many other things as you can be given to do.
“I want to hear it one day from the vice-president that he is not allowed to perform. I don’t like rumour and I don’t like gossip. If he is not allowed to perform, I would wonder what he is still doing there because he is not allowed to perform.
“If he is content in his office and he is given responsibilities and he is discharging those responsibilities to the best of his ability, I do not believe the story that he is not allowed to perform. If that is true, let him say so and not other people saying he is not allowed to perform.
“There is constitutional role for the vice-president, it is spelt out in black and white. If he is not allowed to do that, then, what is he doing there? Because if I am enrolled as a teacher and I am not allowed to teach in that school, I will look for another school,” he said.
The PUNCH had reported that Buhari said that he decided not to hand over power to Osinbajo when he travelled to the United Kingdom on a private visit from April 25 to May 5, 2019 because there was no constitutional requirement for him to do so.
In the past, Buhari had been known to hand over power to his deputy anytime he was travelling out of the country for unofficial engagements.
For instance, when the President travelled to London on a working leave on August 3, 2018 and returned on the 18th, spending a total of 16 days, he handed over to Osinbajo.
It was while Osinbajo was acting President during the same period that he sacked the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Lawal Daura, a move that was said to have been vehemently opposed by those close to the President.
