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Can PMB Govern Without Ministers? by Awaye20(m): 7:36am On Aug 30, 2015 |
In view of the cacophony of voices currently
raving over the unwillingness of President
Muhammadu Buhari to appoint his ministers
several weeks after his own inauguration, it has
become necessary to throw in some light, at
least, from the specialist perspective of
constitutional law.
Apart from fuelling a wayward patronage system,
it is no secret that one of the troubles of our
democracy is the unusually high costs of running
governments occasioned by typically unwieldy
and bloated cabinets. That is why I think it is
sheer hypocrisy and mischief of those currently
clamouring for ministers when we all know how
hurtful such could be on our currently lean
treasury.
It however raises serious legitimacy problems
when they are couched as if it is constitutionally
mandatory that ministers be appointed before a
government, properly so-called, could be said to
have been formed. Can the President lawfully
govern without ministers or is the appointment of
ministers a constitutional requirement for the
formal existence of government? In other words,
has the President violated the Constitution by his
failure to appoint ministers?
The short and direct answer to these queries is
that it is perfectly constitutional for the President,
within the specific context of sections 1(2), 4, 5,
6, 130, 147 and 148 of the Constitution, the font
es origo , i.e., the foundation and source of
legitimacy of government, to take his time in
making appointments. Has the government of
Buhari, as currently constituted, satisfied the
spirit and letter of the Constitution? Yes! For
reasons of space, I sincerely enjoin the reader to
take some time out to peruse those constitutional
provisions listed above.
I concede that because the subject of
constitutional law is at the philosophical
intersection of the disciplines of politics, public
policy, international relations, etc, it has misled
some people into thinking that it is a vocation
terra nullius wherein just anyone could dabble in.
The reality, however, is that it could indeed be
tricky to even those who have made their careers
and professional reputations out of it. The
already slippery terrain of constitutionalism is
often further made incomprehensible when it is
approached with a mindset tainted by partisan
politics.
That, however, is not an excuse for us to willfully
misinterpret very clear constitutional provisions
with a view to overheating the polity as have
been done lately by those self-tagged nattering
nabobs of negativism who have mischievously
equated the temporary absence of ministers with
the imposition of “one man’s rule”, the “non-
existence of a government”, “un-preparedness to
govern” and “dictatorial tendency” culminating in
the undeserved sobriquet of “Baba go slow.”
The only way anyone could fault the legitimacy of
the Buhari administration, so far, is if the coming
into being was in violation of sub-section (2) of
the second section of the Constitution which
provides that, “The Federal Republic of Nigeria
shall not be governed, nor shall any person or
group of persons take control of the Government
of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in
accordance with the provisions of this
Constitution.”
Having fulfilled all the requirements of the
Electoral Act, contested and won the election
democratically, the emergent Buhari/Osinbajo
government has met the legitimacy requirements
of the law, a decisive global recognition and the
gruelling rituals of presidential politics leading to
its formal inauguration on the 29th of May. The
governing powers of the Republic as defined in
sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Constitution within the
framework of Separation of Powers became
properly manifest the very moment the President
and his deputy took their oaths of office.
The President’s subsequent delay in the
appointment of ministers (now being lampooned
as the futile search for “angels”) doesn’t, in any
way, derogate from relevant constitutional
stipulations as already highlighted. A close look
at section 5, the operative clause, confirms that
“the EXECUTIVE powers of the Federation (a)
shall be vested in the President and may (not
shall), 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 Federation or
OFFICERS in the public service of the Federation”.
(Emphasis mine). From the above provisions, it is
clear that whereas the appointment of ministers
may be politically desirable, it is however not
constitutionally pressing.
To the extent that the Executive powers of the
Federation are constitutionally vested in the
President, the requirement for the lawful
composition of the “government of the federation”
that is duly authorised to exercise the sovereign
powers of the State is to that extent fulfilled.
Apart from the Vice-President who is
constitutionally affiliated with the president’s
office, every other appointment into the Executive
department is at the sole discretion of the
President. Therefore, it is not necessary as has
been falsely bandied about, that there must be
ministers before we can say there is a
government in place.
In the same vein, the number of ministers or the
size of the cabinet, the assignment that they may
be given, is entirely at the discretion of the
President. This is what separates the Presidential
system of government from that of the
Westminster. The Presidency, under our
Constitution, is an enormous political machine
which is somehow moderated with well-calibrated
institutional checks and balances.
This was what the late sage, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, foresaw in 1978 during the drafting of
the new presidential Constitution when he raised
the alarm that Nigeria was about to create a
constitutional Leviathan before whom citizens
may have to pull off their shoes in deference — a
demigod. It is remarkable that people like
Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN, the highly
acclaimed constitutional scholar, who are now
raising belated alarms about the concentration of
powers within one office, didn’t buy into the
warnings of Chief Awolowo then.
A look at section 148 of the Constitution which
speaks of the “Executive responsibilities of
ministers” further buttresses the point I am
making. It says: “The President may, (not “shall”),
in his DISCRETION assign the Vice-President or
(again, note not “and”) 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.”
The only obligation for the President, beyond
appointing, is to hold “regular meetings with
them” for the purposes of (a) determine the
general direction of domestic and foreign policies
of the government, (b) coordinating the activities
of the President, the Vice-President and the
Ministers in the discharge of their responsibilities
and (c) advising the President generally in the
discharge of HIS executive functions other than
those with respect to which he is required by the
Constitution to seek advice elsewhere.
We have gone this far in order to demonstrate the
weak constitutional foundation upon which all
those currently heckling that Buhari should
promptly appoint minister are standing. That Mr
President has deemed it necessary to assure, in
spite of his wide constitutional latitude on the
matter, that he will announce his ministers in
September ought to be enough for those now
baying for blood as he is not bound to appoint
any. The only guideline available there is that if
he must appoint, he should comply with the
Constitutional provisions dealing with federal
character.
The question I want to leave the reader with is
this: Has there been any shortage of good
governance since Buhari assumed power even
without ministers? What should government do
that is currently not being done?
Those yearning for ministerial appointments
should give better justifications for their undue
concerns because there is nothing abnormal or
unconstitutional with the President’s “delay.” Mike Ikhariale |
Re: Can PMB Govern Without Ministers? by jazinogold(m): 7:51am On Aug 30, 2015 |
even Jesus had disciple's |
Re: Can PMB Govern Without Ministers? by Awaye20(m): 7:54am On Aug 30, 2015 |
jazinogold:Naso o |
Re: Can PMB Govern Without Ministers? by Nobody: 8:07am On Aug 30, 2015 |
He surely needs ministers,he is just taking his time and being cautious all the same |
Re: Can PMB Govern Without Ministers? by Awaye20(m): 8:27am On Aug 30, 2015 |
onomeglo: Exactly |
(1) (Reply)
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