Sophia Michaels
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a Nigerian activist and lawyer, says the manner in which President Bola Tinubu submitted his ministerial list to the Senate violates the constitution.
Tinubu sent the list in two batches, the first containing 28 names while the second had 19 names.
Adegboruwa, while appearing as a guest on Channels Television programme, alleged that Tinubu failed to fulfill the requirements of the constitution by submitting 28 names lesser than the number of states, in the first instance.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said compliance with the provisions of the constitution should be holistic and total, which must be devoid of the discretion of the President.
He said Tinubu would have completely fulfilled the law if he had sent 37 names to reflect 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by 27th July, 60 days after he assumed office.
He said, “First of all is to state that from the point of view of the law, we don’t have ministers currently because the president didn’t fulfil the requirements of the constitution in nominating the ministers or sending the list.
“The first thing the constitution says clearly is that you must have one minister per state, at least there must be a ministerial nominee from each of the States of the federation who must be indigenes of that particular State; and we have 36 States.
“Then also, the law says in sending these nominees, he must do so within 60 days he has taken the oath of office.
“The president took the oath of office on 29th of May. By sending the names of ministerial nominees that is less than number of states in Nigeria, that means he has not fulfilled or complied with the constitution because he sent 28 names within the 60 days.
“You don’t decide as discretion on how you want to comply with the constitution. The compliance must be holistic; it must be total. At the time the president was sending the list, he should have sent not less than 37; 36 States for the purpose of ministerial appointments, and FCT is also counted as a State.
“So, not sending 37 names as of 27th of July, the President has not complied with the law.”
