LAGOS, Aug 22 (AFP) - Fourteen legislators have backed out of a plan to remove Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo from office over alleged constitutional breaches, their spokesman said Thursday. Some 14 lawmakers told reporters late Wednesday they were not part of the impeachment motion taken last week by the House of Representatives. The motion, which is sponsored by members of the Peoples Democratic Party, gave Obasanjo two weeks to either resign or face impeachment proceedings for alleged incompetence and abuse of power. "We have since discovered that the main objective of the anti-Obasanjo group ... is to scuttle this hard-earned democracy," said Jonathan Asake, a spokesman for the 14 lawmakers. He alleged the decision to try to remove the president from office was hatched at "secret" meetings, and vowed that the 14 legislators will resist the impeachment move. "As patriotic Nigerians, we pledge our firm support for the president and say the allegations are politically motivated, designed to undermine the integrity of Obasanjo's presidency," he added. The governors of Nigeria's 36 states have also condemned the move. "We believe the timing is not good enough, to be talking of impeachment when elections are a few months away," said Olusegun Osoba, governor of the south-western state of Ogun. The presidency and army have also decried the move, saying if it is not properly handled, it could derail the country's three-and-a-half-year-old democracy. Nigeria returned to civilian rule in May 1999, when Obasanjo was sworn in, ending over 15 years of military dictatorship. The country, Africa's most populous, is due to hold general elections next year and Obasanjo has declared his intention to seek re-election. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~