Prominent constitutional lawyer, Prof. Mike Ozekhome (SAN) has criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s latest ministerial nominations, asserting that the selections severely violate the federal character principle.
In a detailed interview with The Guardian, Ozekhome articulated concerns over the composition of the new ministerial appointments and their impact on national unity and social justice.
Prof. Ozekhome highlighted that the token adjustments made to the ministerial lineup were both minimal and delayed, pointing out that the performance of many ministers has been subpar.
He further criticized the restructuring of the ministries under President Tinubu’s administration, describing it as mere “cosmetic window dressing” rather than substantive change.
Despite these criticisms, Ozekhome did acknowledge one positive development under President Tinubu’s leadership: the consolidation of all development commissions within the country into a single ministry, which he viewed as a step towards more streamlined governance.
He said, “If you look at the new appointments, three new ministers are directly from Ogun State, the same state that already produced the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; meaning that in a country of 236 million people by United Nations projection, a country that has 36 states and 774 local councils, Ogun State, which is actually one of the smallest states in Nigeria, has four ministers while some big ones may just have a minister of state.
“This action of Mr President is contrary to the provisions of Section 14 (1) and Section 14 (3) of the constitution. They are also contrary to the provisions of Section 153 of the constitution and Section 7 (1) of the Third Schedule, Part One, to the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
“The new appointment list has wantonly breached these sections. Not only that, what I saw is a situation where even the surgical operation done to the ministries did not have any major positive impact. It was more like cosmetic window dressing.
“It is only in the ministry of Niger Delta that I believe the president did a good job when he decided to bring together the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North East Development Commission, South East Development Commission and South West Development Commission under the Ministry of Regional Development.”
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