For the non lawyers, Donald Trump is only IMPEACHED not REMOVED.
Impeachment doesn’t mean removal from office, but it’s often the beginning process towards removing a public official from office. It is to charge (a public official) with an offense or misdemeanor committed in the course of his official duty. On the other hand, it means to formally accuse a public officer of a crime.
In the United States, it is only the House of Representatives that has the power to impeach the president. The next procedure after impeachment is trial and then removal or acquittal.
In the United States, only the Senate has the power to try and remove or acquit a president who has been impeached (by the House of Representatives).
In history of America only two presidents have been impeached, both were acquitted by the Senate. They are President Andrew Johnson (America’s 17th president who was acquitted by just one vote) and President Bill Clinton (America’s 42nd president).
Donald Trump will be the third president to be impeached, but he won’t be removed because his party constitutes the majority in the US Senate. Though as a person I love the stands and performance of Trump but I don’t like his unpresidential disposition.
Shockingly Nigerian media houses interchange “impeach” with “remove from office” probably because they take their notions from Section 146 (3) (a) of the constitution which says, “where the office of vice president becomes vacant – by reason of death or resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or removal in accordance with section 143 or 144 of this Constitution….”
Further reading of Section 191 (3) (a) of the constitution relating to when the office of the deputy Governor becomes vacant. “where the office of deputy governor becomes vacant – by reason of death, resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or removal in accordance with section 188 or 189 of this Constitution….”
Let me simply put that in America an office can’t become vacant by impeachment but actual removal amongst others unlike in Nigeria who didn’t have a good grasp of what they copied from America where impeachment is included as meaning vacant without practicability. Impeachment is more or less that the President has been found by the House of Representative to have case to answer over the allegations against him.
The Nigerian constitution however has its shortcomings as it used “impeachment” in talks of the procedures for the “removal” of the president and of governors from office. Showing that framers or drafters of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria are clearly not in tune with the practical realities and inundated intellectual dynamism of meanings cum terminologies deployed in the constitution. This may have been influenced the grave display of ignorance or will I say shallow knowledge of the process of removal and impeachment of POTUS.
In conclusion, Trump remains the president of America as impeachment by House of Representative does not translate to Removal as only the senate can remove or acquit him. The possibility of removing Trump is very slim owing to the fact that his party the Republican is the majority in the senate and getting 2/3 majority is not an easy task for the “radical left”
Lesson from America : See how interesting and it is engaging to watch the whole proceedings. I ask myself whether we are in the same planet with this people. Our politicians should hide their face in shame. God bless America.
God bless Nigeria.
