Nigeria lawmakers threaten to impeach Obasanjo

[Richard Akindele]

LAGOS (Reuters) - Fresh from defeating a bid to keep President Olusegun Obasanjo in power, Nigerian lawmakers on Wednesday threatened to impeach him if he shows any sign of trying to derail elections next year.

Obasanjo, a 69-year-old former military ruler, said last week he accepted the National Assembly's rejection of his tenure extension. He told the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) to heal the wounds of the divisive "third term campaign" and prepare for the 2007 polls.

But some lawmakers fear that the retired general might launch an offensive against those responsible for the defeat or even try to hold onto power by wrecking the elections.

"If there is any victimisation of people because they were against the third term, or if he refuses to fund the electoral authority, or if people feel the president wants to abort the process, impeachment proceedings will start straight away," said a senior PDP lawmaker, adding that a long list of charges had already been prepared.

He declined to comment publicly on the impeachment plan on the grounds he did not want to confront Obasanjo openly, but added that the president was aware of the threat.

Senator Saidu Dansadau, of opposition party ANPP, said lawmakers were working on the basis that Obasanjo would live up to his public call for reconciliation.

"If he does anything to undermine the National Assembly and its decisions, we would take unpleasant steps against him. It would be fire for fire," he said, noting that funding of the electoral authority contained in the budget was critical.

Nigerian politics have been thrown into a state of flux by the National Assembly's decision, and many power brokers are realigning their loyalties in the run-up to the elections, which are expected in March or April.

The vote should mark the first time in Nigerian history that one elected president hands over to another. Many of those who opposed the third term now want to ensure there is less fraud than in 2003 elections, when Obasanjo won a second term amid accusations of widespread rigging.

FEARS OF DICTATORSHIP

Obasanjo's election in 1999 marked a return to democracy after three decades of almost uninterrupted dictatorship, but the third term campaign reawakened fears of autocratic rule in Africa's largest oil producer.

It was promoted by a powerful lobby of ruling party grandees and business leaders with millions of dollars in bribes for lawmakers, according to those opposed to the third term.

Obasanjo never publicly said whether he wanted to stay, but many suspect that he led the campaign from behind the scenes.

The PDP was created in 1998 with no ideological bias as a vehicle for Obasanjo to win power. Since 2004 it had become an instrument of the third term campaign, alienating many powerful elements in the party including Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

With the third term now ruled out, power is draining away from Obasanjo and many party members are calling for the removal of the party chairman. The 36 state governors, who fund and control the party machinery, have re-emerged as key players.

"There is a scramble right now. There are a million ways it could go and everyone is in consultations," a senior party member said, asking not to be named.

"If the President decides he wants to reinvent the PDP and appoint a new chairman, the PDP could produce a candidate who could beat anyone. If he keeps the chairman, 20 governors could come out and say this is not their party and that would be it."

A majority in the party want free and fair elections, because that is the only way they can be guaranteed a chance of power, he added.

"With the third term dead, people will support the president if he allows a new person to emerge, but they have nothing to gain from crisis," he said.