Group, VATLAD Objects To Agbakoba Suit Asking Court To Nullify Buhari’s Portfolio As Petroleum Minister 

The group, Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy VATLAD, has objected to a law suit by formerNigeria Bar Association President, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, challenging the legality of President Buhari retaining the position of substantive Minister for Petroleum Resources of Nigeria.

The group in a statement issued by its National President Comrade (Engr) Odafe Emmanuel Igbini, punctured the argument of Agbakoba which was based on sections 138 and 148 (1 & 2) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, saying what could be more “intellectual dishonesty and fraud” than as such claim.

Igbini noted that Agbakoba’s argument was a deliberate attempt to mislead 200 million Nigerians to believing that the over 50 years of monumental corporate fraud and looting of Nigeria’s Oil money perpetrated in the Upstream Sector of Oil and Gas, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and NNPC, is simply becuase President Buhari refused to appoint another person as the substantive Minister for Petroleum Resources only in the past two years.

He stressed that the hundred of billions of US Dollars so far reported to have been stolen and looted out of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector took place under the watch of substantive Ministers of Petroleum Resources.

According to him, the reported monumental fraud and looting in the Oil and Gas Sector, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and NNPC were also the case during the immediate past Federal Government which appointed a substantive Minister for Petroleum Resources.

The statement read in part: “We also hasten to remind Nigerians that it is motivated by this sad development that immediately President Buhari was inaugurated as elected President in May 29, 2015, we strongly advised President Buhari not to appoint anyone as substantive Minister for Petroleum Resources but instead he should retain this critical Ministerial Position until he as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and a known Anti-corruption Activist, gets rid of corporate fraud and looting in the Oil and Gas Sector of Nigeria.

“We can’t continue to sit back and allow appointed Ministers for Petroleum Resources and their unpatriotic collaborators within and outside Nigeria to callously and unpatriotically loot our Commonwealth as they did in the past.

“We disagree with the argument of Dr Agbakoba in citing Section 138 of the Nigerian Constitution that it “disqualifies the President from taking any paid employment or holding executive office such as the Minister of Petroleum Resources.”

“We demand that Dr Agbakoba SAN, produce verifiable proofs that President Buhari is paid salary as Minister for Petroleum Resources.

Speaking further, Igbini said, Section 5(1a) of 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) states that: “the executive powers of the Federation shall be vested in the President and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised BY HIM either DIRECTLY or through the Vice President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation”

“By virtue of this section, President Buhari has patriotically agreed to exercise the powers of the federation directly as substantive Minister for Petroleum Resources in addition to the challenging task of being President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria at a difficult time that the Country is engaged in war against Boko Haram Terrorists group. President Buhari deserves the COMMENDATION not condemnation from Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN”.

“The Executive Office and paid job being referred to by Dr Agbakoba SAN in section 138 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, does not refer at all, to Ministerial position.

“It is imperative for us to set the record straight that President Buhari is not paid for being the Minister for Petroleum Resources.

“It is also important for us to inform Nigerians of the provision of section 148(1) which states that: The President (President Buhari) may in his DISCRETION, assign to the Vice President (Prof. Osinbajo,SAN) 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 (NNPC) of government. The critical operating word here is: DISCRETION.

“We strongly disagree with Dr Agbakoba’s claim that: “I verily believe that the governance chaos in the NNPC could not have occurred, if the President is not also the minister of petroleum resources’.

“In reply, we state unequivocally that there is no chaos in NNPC at all. This fact has repeatedly been stated by Dr Ibe Kachikwu on several Forum.

“We therefore submit that it is constitutional and legal for President Buhari to continue to exercise the the executive power of the Federal Republic of Nigeria directly by himself particularly in the most critical Oil and Gas sector of Nigeria, as Minister of Petroleum Resources and this has so far helped reduce the huge monumental corporate fraud and lootings in this sector.

“It has also helped restore sanity in the Sector and Peace in the Oil-rich Niger Delta Region with resultant increase in economic prosperity for 200 million Nigerians”.

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