Fayose wants to nominate minister for Buhari

Ayodele Fayose, the governor of Ekiti state has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to grant him the opportunity to nominate a minister for his yet-to-be announced cabinet.

In a letter to the president, Fayose hinged his request around the provisions of the 1999 constitution as amended, adding that he would nominate a competent professional if his request is granted.

“I shall be happy to nominate a worthy and competent professional, who can always oblige Your Excellency and your cabinet the benefit of a second opinion in the serious business of governance,” he wrote.

Citing the Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration as precedent for selecting members of the opposition, Fayose said Obasanjo chose the late Bola Ige as minister for justice, despite Ige’s role as a front runner in the opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD).

The provision of Section 147 of the constitution, as highlighted by Fayose, says the president shall appoint from every state of the federation: “(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.”

As against popular opinion, human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo, had earlier said that Buhari was not obliged to select ministers from the 36 states of the federation at the initial days of his government.

“The whole idea of having at least thirty-seven (37) Ministers is derived from section 147(1), (2), (3) and section 302 of the 1999 constitution,” he had said.

“A cursory reading of the above section will lead to a quick conclusion that since we have thirty-six (36) states of the federation, a minister from each state would naturally mean that the president must appoint at least thirty-six (36) ministers from the states.

“And if you add the minister for the FCT that section 302 imposes on the president to appoint, then the conclusion would naturally be to have at least thirty-seven (37) ministers of the federation.

“However, I respectfully submit that this long-held notion is built on a faulty premise, a constitutional misunderstanding and a restrictive interpretation of section 147 as quoted above.”

It is not known yet known how Buhari will perceive Fayose’s intention, but he already said that governors will not nominate ministers for him.