PDP Dares Osinbajo Over Threat To Waive Own Immunity

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dared Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to go ahead with his threat to waive his immunity to allow for thorough investigation of recent corruption allegations against him.

The PDP also challenged Osinbajo to resign his office to face the allegations of corruption levelled against him in court.

“I will waive my constitutional immunity to enable the most robust adjudication of these claims of libel and malicious falsehood,” Osinbajo had said in reaction to an allegation by a former chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress  (APC), Timi Frank, that he took N90 billion from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to fund President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 presidential election.

The vice president had also revealed in a statement he posted on his official Facebook page that he had instructed his lawyers to file legal actions against Frank and one Katch Ononuju for making “defamatory and misleading assertions” against him.

But reacting on Thursday, the opposition PDP challenge Osinbajo to “make good his threats to set aside his constitutional immunity by immediately resigning his office to face the corruption allegations, in which he was named, in court.”

The opposition party said since “there is no provision for waiver of immunity in our constitution” for vice presidents, Osinbajo should “do the needful by resigning and vacating the office.”

PDP said, “immunity under section 308 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) is conferred on an official by virtue of his/her election into an office within a duration and cannot be waived by any means other than resignation.

“It is instructive to state that Section 308 confers immunity to the holder of the office “during his period in office”. There is no provision for waiver while the holder is still in office.

“Vice President Osinbajo should know that it is settled that section 308 can only be set aside by vacating the office. It is not a jacket to be put on or dropped at will.

“Significantly, our party invites the Vice President to note that his pronouncement has set off a process, which is expected to terminate in his resignation.”

The opposition party further urged the National Assembly to treat the vice president’s statement “as an official communication to the legislature indicating his intention to vacate office.”