COVER
Buhari Ends Eight – year Tenure with Valedictory Cabinet Meeting
By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari technically ended his eight-year tenure as he presided over a valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The Council consideration its last memorandum as tenure of the administration elapses in five days on Monday, May 29.
The meeting was intended for Ministers to put finishing touches, to a number of documents as well as treat outstanding issues from the various government Ministries, Departments and Agencies ahead of the exit of the administration next Monday .
Yesterday’s FEC meeting held behind closed doors in the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja was characterised by a flurry of activities with a rash of last-minute approvals and appointments.
Before the valedictory session, which was preceded by exchange of banters among cabinet members, President Buhari performed the swearing-in of seven Federal Commissioners of the Revenue Mobilisation, Fiscal and Allocation Commission (RMFC).
Those sworn- in by the President before commencement of the valedictory session were Peter Okpara (Imo), Senator Ayogu Eze (Enugu), Kolade Abimbola (Oyo), Rekiya Ayuba-Haruna (Kebbi), Hauwa Aliyu (Jigawa), Ismaila Agaka (Kwara), and Amb Ayuba Ngako representing the FCT.
The Council also received the key highlights of the report of the Health Reform Committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The Committee was put in place to develop a roadmap to achieving Universal Health Coverage in the country.
Among its recommendations include improving funding of the health sector above 10 percent.
Minister of State, Unconstitutional, Says Keyamo
The outgoing Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has told President Muhammadu Buhari that it was an out of the law of the nation to appoint a Minister of State.
Keyamo stated this on Wednesday, during the valedictory session presided over by President Buhari to mark the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), under the current administration at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Minister of State, who commended the President for enriching his Curriculum Vitae, through the appointment, noted that some other Ministers of State, have been grumbling and unable to be bold and speak out.
He said it would be difficult to assess the individual performances of the Ministers of State since their discretion was shackled under the discretion of the ‘superior Ministers’ as any original ideas developed by a Minister of State are subject to clearance by another colleague in Cabinet before they can sail through for consideration by Council.
His text read: “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.”
Supporting his position with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Keyamo said, “Mr. President, I crave your indulgence to explain this constitutional conundrum of “Minister of State”. Sections 147 and 148 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), deal with the appointments and responsibilities of Ministers of the Federation. The said sections state as follows:
Section 147 “(1) There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.
“(2) Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.
“(3) Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:- provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each State, who shall be an indigene of such State.”
Section 148 “(1) The President may, in his discretion, assign to the Vice-President or any Minister of the Government of the Federation responsibility for any business of the Government of the Federation, including the administration of any department of government.”
“Furthermore, the 7th Schedule to the 1999 Constitution provides for the Oath of Office to which each Minister must subscribe. There are no different Oaths for “Minister” and “Ministers of State”. They all take the same Oath of Office.
“In addition to the above, the Ministers-designate appear before the Senate and are grilled and cleared AS MINISTERS, not as Ministers in some instances and Ministers of State in some other instances. It is at the point of assignment of portfolios that successive Presidents then reclassified some as “Ministers of State.”
Keyano insisted 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.
He said, “Some may want to justify this by saying the President is given the discretion by the Constitution to assign whatever responsibility(ies) he likes to Ministers. Yes, I concede Mr. President can do that, but not by a designation different from that prescribed by the Constitution.
“Simply put, it is akin to the President assigning responsibilities to the office of the Vice-President and re-designating that office as “Deputy President” under our present Constitution. That is clearly impossible. Why then should that of the Ministers be different?
“What is more, Ministers are appointed pursuant to Section 147(3) of the 1999 Constitution to represent each State of the Federation. Therefore, Ministers sit in Cabinet as the eye of Mr. President in each State of the Federation. It is therefore against the intendment of the drafters of our Constitution for a representative of a State to be reclassified as against another representative of another State.
“The Schedules of Duties of Ministers and Ministers of State that intend to cure some of these anomalies hardly help the issues. Firstly, the Schedules of Duties are observed more in breach by the Permanent Secretaries and Directors who really cannot be expected to serve two masters.
“And in any case, many of the roles of both Ministers are so ambiguous that the bureaucrats would always interpret them to satisfy the ones they see as the “Senior Ministers” or “main Ministers” for fear of being persecuted by them.
“Secondly, parts of the Schedules of Duties seem to suggest that the Ministers can delegate functions to the Ministers of State. This is a constitutional impossibility. It is only Mr. President that can delegate Presidential powers as one cannot delegate what he does not have (delegatus non potest delegare). In any case, how can someone who took the same Oath of Office with another delegate functions to that other?
“Thirdly, the Schedules of Duties leave so many gaping holes that bring conflicts between the Ministers and Ministers of State. In addition, the provision that “Ministers of State” cannot present Memos in Council, except with the permission of the Minister, is another anomaly. It means the discretion of the Minister of State is subsumed in the discretion of the Minister, yet both of them represent different States in Cabinet.
“It also follows that it would be difficult to assess the individual performances of the Ministers of State since their discretion is shackled under the discretion of the Ministers. Original ideas developed by a Minister of State are subject to clearance by another colleague in Cabinet before they can sail through for consideration by Council. The drafters of our Constitution obviously did not intend this.”
He argued that the unconstitutional development has led to having ministers that were idle or redundant.
“As a result, many Ministers of State are largely redundant, with many going to the office for symbolic purpose and just to while away the time. Files are passed to them to treat only at the discretion of the other Minister and the Permanent Secretary. Yet, the Ministers of State will receive either praise or condemnation for the successes or failures of such Ministries.
The Minister said, “Many Ministerial Retreats have been held to try and resolve the issues between Ministers and Ministers of State. President Obasanjo held four of such Retreats, with the last one holding at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, from 23rd to 25th February, 2001. Yet, the problems persisted.
“Mr. President, unknown to many successive Presidents and the general public, these conflicts gravely affect the optimal performance of Governments. What is the way forward?
“Obviously, the argument that two Ministers are cramped into some Ministries in order not to unnecessarily proliferate Ministries and therefore, save Government’s money is no longer tenable. This is because Government does not need any extra infrastructure or more money to maintain all Senior 36 Ministers or even a bit more appointed as is now the custom” he stated.
“In my case, whilst the Schedule of my colleague had to do more with Labour and Productivity, mine had to do more with Employment. The Directorates in my Ministry that were under my office would then be fully under the Minister of Employment, without any double loyalty to the Minister of Labour and Productivity.
“We can also have a Minister of Trade and another Minister of Investment. We can have a Minister of Education (Tertiary) and another Minister of Education (Primary and Secondary); we can have a Minister of Mines and another Minister of Steel; we can have a Minister of Works and another Minister of Housing and so on and so forth.
“In all of these, no extra infrastructure is needed to sustain this suggested arrangement. The present infrastructure and present personnel in the Ministries can very well sustain it. It will be at no extra cost to government. This is preferable than successive governments continuing with this present unconstitutional arrangement,” he stressed.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja Federal Government says it will consider using private sector funds through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a funding option for certain key projects in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology.This was disclosed when the Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Dr Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr Uche Nnaji.
The meeting which was at the instance of the ICRC DG, sought partnership between the two government bodies to harness PPPs to advance critical projects that can boost the economic and technological growth of the nation. Speaking during the meeting, Dr Ewalefoh said that science and technology, if properly deployed, can serve as a key driver of the economic growth and progress of Nigeria.“Many countries around the world have used Science and Technology to drive the economic growth and prosperity of their country and people.“We are here to brainstorm with you and find ways by which we can deepen the usage of science and technology for the advancement of our country.“Over the last two decades, countries and businesses have harnessed technology and innovation for upscaling their economy and improve the efficiency in their service delivery.“That is where we want our country to go, and we believe that is the vision you are championing under the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.“It is, therefore, my aspiration that your ministry will partner with the ICRC to see areas where we can champion private sector funding through Public Private Partnership to develop some of the projects specific to the ministry,” he said.The DG informed the Minister that there was already a collaboration with an agency under its purview but stressed that there were other key areas where PPP could be harnessed to deliver laudable projects in the Ministry.He added that the commission has streamlined its processes to accelerate PPP project delivery and deliver important services to the Nigerian people, pointing out that some key private sector operators have already verbalised their desire to work with the Ministry in a PPP arrangement.In his remarks, the Minister expressed his excitement at the appointment of Dr Ewalefoh as the DG of ICRC, saying that the DG’s wealth of experience will revolutionise the PPP sphere in Nigeria, adding that, indeed, a square peg has been placed in a square hole.The Minister emphasised that the Ministry served as a key enabler of economic growth and has had the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu demonstrated through major approvals granted the Ministry.He said that the President had given approval for methanol production, saying that although the implementation process were still being finalised, foreign direct investments for the project has reached over $1.5 billion.“We want to go into beneficiation of raw materials and we have the presidential executive order number 5 to back it, such that we don’t have to export our raw materials, but process it to a level before exporting. We are looking at doing green hydrogen, too,” he said.He stressed that Nigeria could make a lot more from cassava export than it was currently making if the raw cassava was processed before export.“We believe that with ICRC, we will partner in doing things right and enabling us to forge a better outlook for most of these projects.“In methanol, we are going to involve ICRC more closely to see the way forward and how it can benefit the country better.“I am happy that you are here; coming here shows that you know what you are doing. You are taking services to those that need it,” he said.
From Attah Ede, Makurdi
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani armed militia, on Wednesday night, reportedly invaded Anyiin town in the Logo Local Government Area of Benue State.
Multiple reports indicated that no fewer than 15 persons were killed in the attack, leaving several others with varying degrees of injuries while yet to be ascertained number were missing.
The attack, which was said to have been launched at about 6:30pm by the well-armed Fulani herders, caught the community unawares as the invaders reportedly emerged from different locations shooting at everyone in sight.
The attackers, who were said to be numbering about 200, were reported to be wielding AK-47 rifles and other sophisticated weapons, operated for about three hours.
An eyewitness and community leader in Anyiin town, Chief Joseph Anawah, said the armed herders overwhelmed security operatives stationed in the town because of their large numbers.
He said it was a coordinated operation, stating that the alleged Fulani terrorists took residents of the town unawares, surrounded the town and shot sporadically.
Anawah said some of the villagers who ran for their dear lives were caught in an ambush laid by the invaders.
He listed some of the victims to include: Mr Orihundu Ati, a retired primary school supervisor and the son of a kindred head.
Also killed was a son to a Chief of Staff to a former Logo council chairman, Tordoo Suswam and a relation of a late District head of Ukemberagya, Zaki John Chembe.
Anawah listed Ukemberagya, Tswarev, Mbawar, Gov, Mbainange, and Tombo among neighbouring communities earlier displaced by the invaders and whose residents were taking refuge in Anyiin before the latest attack.
The community leaders appealed to the federal government and the Benue state government to revive an abandoned Mobile Police barracks project along Akwana-Anyiin-Wukari road to secure the lives and property in the communities.
They lamented that farmers in the affected communities could not harvest their crops because they were being killed and abducted on their farms by the armed invaders.
According to them, communities along the Benue-Taraba border are the worst hit by the marauders’ incessant attacks.”This is the second attack in one month by the Fulani terrorists. On Oct. 9, they attacked Ayilamo town, the headquarters of Tombo Council Ward and killed scores of people. As I speak, people are deserting Anyiin town for fear of the unknown”, Chief Anawah said.
By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas yesterday described growing malnutrition and food insecurity as great threat to Nigeria’s economic stability and public health.
Inaugurating the Local Organizing Committee for the National Assembly summit on nutrition and food security in Abuja, the Speaker reiterated the urgent need for legislative action to restore the country’s productivity and public health.
Abbas who was represented by Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Okezie Kalu noted that Nigeria’s rate of malnutrition is among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.
He noted that malnutrition, especially among children, stunts physical and cognitive development, impacting long-term educational and economic potential and contributing to broader societal challenges.
The Speaker assured the lawmakers’ full support for the committee’s initiatives, urging collaboration with State Houses of Assembly to create a unified approach to combating food insecurity.
He said, “The need for this National Summit on Nutrition and Food Security has never been more urgent.
“This organizing committee’s mission is to foster collaboration across ministries, engage both public and private sectors, and create a platform for lawmakers, experts, and community leaders to address the root causes of food security challenges.”
The chairman of the committee, Chike Okafor said there is malnutrition across Nigeria, particularly in the north spiking by 51 percent among children.
He described the situation as a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by recent floods in Adamawa, Maiduguri, and Jigawa, which have disrupted food supplies nationwide.
According to him, the summit will help to in the formulation of policies to tackle food insecurity.
Rivers APC Chair Proffers Solution to State Political Crisis
Share Caretaker Committee Chairman of APC in Rivers, Chief Tony Okocha, says unless Gov. Siminalayi Fubara abides by the law,...
Police Neutralise 6 Hoodlums, Recover Firearms in Bauchi
Share The Police Command in Bauchi State, says it has neutralised six hoodlums in a crackdown against criminal elements in...
Why Tax Reform Bills May not be Recalled – Tinubu
ShareProposed tax reform bills at the National Assembly will not be withdrawn, says President Bola Tinubu. The National Economic Council...
Minister, NMA Hail NSA, Security Forces over Rescue of Kaduna Doctor
Share Dr Tunji Alausa, former Minister of State for Health and Social Development, has commended the Office of the National...
TCN Restores Bulk Power Supply to Gombe-Damaturu-Maiduguri Line
Share The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it has restored full power supply through the Gombe-Damaturu- Maiduguri 330 Kilo...
IDPs: Zamfara Gets $2.5m Humanitarian Aid from Saudi Arabia
Share Zamfara Government said it has received $2.5million from Saudi Arabian Donor Agency to support internally displaced persons with humanitarian...
HCI: Nigeria to Join 80 Top Countries – VP
Share Vice-President Kashim Shettima has pledged the Federal Government’s resolve to position Nigeria among the top 80 countries on the...
Nigeria Sets January 2025 for $5bn Africa Energy Bank Take Off
ShareThe Federal Government has set Jan. 28, 2025 as the deadline for the operationalisation of the five billion dollars Africa...
Abia Govt. Promises to Fix Failed Portions of Osisioma Flyover
Share Gov. Alex Otti of Abia says that plans are underway to rehabilitate the failed portions of the Osisioma flyover, near...
Funding Critical for Successful Amnesty Programme – Diri
Share Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa has called for better funding of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) for it to...