Obasanjo denies flouting the constitution

President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday defended himself against allegations that he has breached the Nigerian constitution in 17 different respects, for which he faces the threat of impeachment. "All I have done, I have done in the best interest of our great country. I have not deliberately violated the law or the constitution," Obasanjo said in a written response to a 10-member committee of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), which is mediating an impasse between him and the legislature. The president, in a statement released to reporters, rebutted all 17 charges against him by the House of Representatives, point by point. On 13 August, the lower chamber of parliament had issued Obasanjo a two-week ultimatum to resign or face impeachment proceedings. It accused him of accumulated breaches of the Nigerian constitution since he took office in 1999. The upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, backed the House of Representatives in its action. However, following the intervention of the leadership of the ruling PDP, which has an overwhelming majority in parliament, the House of Representatives last week listed 17 alleged breaches of the constitution and demanded that the president address them within 10 days through the party committee. The chairman of the House Committee on Information, Farouk Lawan, told reporters on Wednesday that 200 of the 360 members of the lower chamber had already signed up to issue the president an impeachment notice. The latest face-off between the executive and legislative arms of government marks a critical turn in persistent squabbles since Obasanjo's victory in 1999 elections, which ended more than 15 years of military rule in Africa's most populous country. The recent events have worsened what has been a chaotic and violent build-up to the general elections scheduled for next year, raising widespread fears that things might spin out control or provide a pretext for military intervention.