The recent declaration by the immediate-past Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, to the effect that ministers of state in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration were redundant just as the position is unconstitutional is a food for thought for the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government. This is particularly so, considering that Mr President is about to appoint his ministers….CONTINUE READING...CONTINUE READING
In his speech at the valedictory session presided over by the then President Buhari to mark the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) under his administration, at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, Keyamo quoted relevant session of the constitution to back up his argument.
Keyamo, who thanked President Buhari for enriching his curriculum vitae, through the appointment, noted that some other ministers of state have been grumbling but unable to be bold to speak out. He asserted that it would be challenging to evaluate the individual performances of the ministers of state because their discretion was constrained by the discretion of the ministers, as any original ideas developed by a minister of state would need to be approved by a different cabinet member before they could be forwarded to council for consideration.
He said, “Mr. President, you first appointed me as Minister of State in the Ministry Niger Delta Affairs in August, 2019 and you later redeployed me as Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Today, I cannot find the words to express the depth of my gratitude to you for finding me worthy, out of over two hundred million Nigerians, to be nominated and subsequently appointed to serve as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. My curriculum vitae has been greatly enhanced – forever.
“From my very humble beginnings in a small dusty town in Delta State where I was born and raised by my struggling parents, all the way to the Council Chambers at the Presidential Villa where I had the honour and privilege to participate weekly in decision-making for my country in the last four years, it has been like a fairy tale. I give God all the glory.
“What I am about to say, therefore, is not and should not be construed as an indication of ingratitude. Far from it. What I am about to say is just my own little contribution to our constitutional development as a relatively young democracy and to aid future governments to optimize the performance of those they appoint as Ministers.
“Mr. President, the concept or designation of “Minister of State” is a constitutional aberration and is practically not working for many so appointed. Successive governments have come and gone and many who were appointed as Ministers of State have not spoken out at a forum such as this because of the risk of sounding ungrateful to the Presidents who appointed them. However, like I said earlier, this is not ingratitude.
“As a private citizen, I am on record to have gone to court a number of times to challenge unconstitutional acts of governments for the sake of advancing our constitutional democracy, so it will be out of character for me to have gone through government and be carried away by the pomp of public office and forget my role as a member of the Inner Bar and my self-imposed role over the years as a crusader for democracy and constitutionalism.”
He contended that though the president has the constitutional powers to assign portfolio to his appointees, he said that such appointment must be in line with the constitutional provision.
Also speaking, the immediate-past Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mrs Rahamatu Tijjani, said President Buhari administration’s achievements would have been unequalled if the ministers of state were not suppressed by the ministers.
Speaking to State House correspondents on the issue, she said: “If you are appointed, if you serve your state, if you underwent the same training, you attend the same FEC representing your people, why then is your voice hinged upon another minister’s voice? Why is lack of planning on another minister’s part an emergency on yours? Why is the label ineptitude now the label you will carry if he should fail?
“All these should be looked into by the next administration to put the country in the good part of trajectory. Let me tell you this, if and only if, and that is the little minus I saw in this administration, all ministers were allowed to perform, the performances of the government and the achievement of President Muhammadu Buhari administration, I’ll beat my chest and say they cannot be equaled. But if one plus one becomes one, then there is an issue.”
It is pertinent to underscore the fact that the Tinubu government cannot afford the luxury of appointing ministers or anyone for that matter who cannot justify his pay, especially with the lean financial resources at government’s disposal. The era of waste and duplicity of functions should be discarded forthwith. It will be tantamount to cruelty and insensitivity to deny the larger Nigerian populace subsidy and other dividends of democracy while squandering the nation’s commonwealth on a few privileged individuals in the guise of political patronage….CONTINUE READING
