‘Buhari can appoint less than 37 ministers’

Human rights activist and foremost legal practitioner, Festus Keyamo, has described the idea of having a large cabinet as “an unnecessary drain” on the country’s resources, saying Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s incoming president, is not mandated to appoint 37 ministers.

Keyamo said if Buhari decides to reduce the number of ministers, he should be applauded.

“The long-held notion in Nigeria that the president of the federal republic of Nigeria is under an obligation to appoint at least thirty-seven (37) ministers into his cabinet is not correct, after all – at least by a holistic appreciation of the spirit and letters of the 1999 constitution (as amended),” he said in a statement.

“This notion has been taken for granted that no one has bothered to read the provisions of the constitution over and over again. And of course, since it suits the politicians to promote this notion, none of them has ever dared to suggest otherwise.

“But, with the greatest sense of patriotism, I submit that the president can, indeed, appoint far less than thirty-seven (37) Ministers and have a very lean cabinet.

“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.

“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.”

Keyamo further said the constitution does not stipulate the time-frame within which the president shall appoint ministers once he assumes office.

“If that is accepted then it means the president has the whole of the four-year tenure at his disposal to fulfill the constitutional provision of appointing a minister each from each state of the federation.

“Secondly, the Constitution does not state that the ministers so appointed have a fixed term of office. In other words, they are appointed and removed at the pleasure of the president. They are not bound to spend four years in office with the president.

“Lastly and most importantly, subsection (1) gives the president an absolute discretion to establish such offices of ministers of the government of the federation.”