It is wrong to put pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign on health ground a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN Chief Anthony Idigbe SAN has said.

According to him, the decision to resign or not should be made personally by the president.

Idigbe believes the president can perform his duties while managing his health issues as long as he is not incapacitated.

The SAN spoke after his induction into the Third Degree of the Order of the Knights of St Mulumba (KSM) at the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration in Victoria Garden City, Lekki, Lagos.

His wife, Elizabeth, a lawyer and Managing Partner of Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors, was inducted as a Lady of St Mulumba.

On calls for President Buhari to resign, Idigbe said: “It’s a personal decision. It’s up to him to decide. In the Catholic Church, we had a similar experience where a pope on his volition felt it was in the best interest of the church to resign. So, it’s a very personal decision. It’s not what anyone should pressure or stampede him into doing.

“In any event, the fact that someone has some medical challenges doesn’t mean the person can’t work. There are lots of facilities nowadays. So, the decision to resign is very personal. Nigerians should give him that privacy and allow him to consider his situation.”

Idigbe praised the Federal Government on the release of 82 Chibok girls, saying their liberation through negotiation was a welcome development.

“Everybody is glad that that has happened. We really need to do much more in our country to maintain rule of law. But I’m happy that at least there’s progress being made.

“Particularly, I was happy to hear that the girls’ release was as a result of negotiation, and not through a battle or forceful capture. It gives me an idea that there is some discussion going on, and I think we need to engage more in our system.”

The SAN said he was elated at the honour of being invested with the Third Degree of the KSM.

“It’s a much higher spiritual responsibility in terms of the objectives of the KSM which is to defend the catholic faith, propagate the religion and to do charity. I love the charity aspect,” he said.

Lagos Metropolitan Grand Knight, Dr  Charles Mbelede, said those admitted into the third degree category the church’s honoured order were examined and found worthy.

On the significance of the knighthood, he said: “A Knight of St Mulumba is a practising Catholic with reasonable education and financial resources who is willing to volunteer his talent and energies for the service of God, the church and fellow men.

“He aspires towards a high sense of Christian discipline and cooperates with other Christian denominations without compromising Catholic doctrines and principles.

“He lives an exemplary Catholic life making use of the sacraments to grow in the Grace of God. He defends the Catholic faith and gives succour to the disadvantaged, the poor and the oppressed in the society. He is a man of prayer. The Ladies of St Mulumba are the wives of Knights of St Mulumba.

“The Order for the Knights of St Mulumba Nigeria is a national private association of Christ’s faithful, modeled on the Sacred Order of Catholic Knighthood. It is founded upon the principles of Catholic action. Knights loyally submit to the ecclesiastical authority.”

Mbelede urged Nigerians to pray for the president’s quick recovery.

“For me as a Christian, I’ll pray for his health, but the country has to move forward. I think we should go by what the Constitution says regarding when the President is sick. The Constitution should serve as a guide for what is right and wrong,” he said.

Source: The Nation News