Group Hails Buhari For Retaining Ministry Of Petroleum, Says Minister Of State Unconstitutional

The group, Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy (VATLAD) has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for retaining the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, saying it was constitutional and a move to further purged the oil and gas sector of corruption.

The group however challenged President Buhari to justify the decision by sanitizing the sector and halt or drastically reduce the rising level of corruption and massive looting of the nation’s wealth in the oil and gas sector.

National President of the group, Comrade Emmanuel Igbini spoke on Wednesday shortly after President Buhari inaugurated and assigned portfolios to the recently appointed 43 Ministers.

“The decision of President Buhari is constitutional and in line with section 5 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, which vests the Executive Powers of the Federation in the President of Nigeria and to exercise such power either direct by himself or through the Vice President or Ministers as he so chooses”, Igbini said.

According to him, the ball is now in the Court of the National Assembly to without fear or favour, invoke its full constitutional powers of oversight under sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, to regularly invite President Buhari as Minister of Petroleum Resources, to the National Assembly to give reports of situations in the sector and to answer any query raised by the National Assembly.

He argued that such measure is in line with the provision of section 88 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, which makes it mandatory for the National Assembly “to expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources”.

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“We also hasten to remind President Buhari that Nigerians look forward to him as Minister of Petroleum Resources and an Anti-corruption crusader to bring urgent sanity to the Petroleum Sector and cause immediate downward review of prices of Petroleum Products and get our Nation’s Refineries fully operational to their maximum design capacities. He is fully in charge and can no longer blame anyone if the corruption, looting and inefficiency in this sector continues”, he added.

Igbini commended President Buhari for appointing some Ministers-Designates into Ministries they have professional competence, experience and proven passion for.

He said that one of such appointments is that of Mr Keyamo Festus SAN, who for the past two decades has been in vanguard of peaceful campaigns for economic and environmental justice and infrastructural development of the Niger Delta Region.

He however faulted a situation where some States were still denied their equal Constitutional Rights to produce substantive Ministers each.

This, he argued is a gross violation of section 147 of 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended.

Igbini said, “We wish to restate that these so-called positions of “Ministers of State” do not exist in Nigerian Constitution.

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“For the avoidance of doubt, Section 147 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, states thus: (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”.

Also, while commending Mr. President for his decision to unbundle the Ministries of Power, Works and Housing, he faulted the merger of the Ministry of Budget and National Planing with Ministry of Finance.

The decision, he said will create more burden on the Minister of Finance and give room for loss of focus, abuses and corruption and therefore urged President Buhari to reverses to the existing status and appoint a Substantive Minister of Budget and National Planning.