Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that ministers in his cabinet who are interested in running for elective office should resign immediately, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and Senator Godswill Akpabio resigned from their respective posts yesterday.
However, Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said he would have to consult with his constituents and the president before resigning his appointment.
Chibuike Amaechi (Minister of Transportation) and Timipre Sylva (Minister of State in Petroleum Resources) were two other ministers who had yet to resign because of the president’s directive. Both are now running for president of Nigeria on the All Progressives Congress platform (APC).
Others are Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who is seeking to contest the governorship position in Kebbi State; Minister of State for Mines and Steel, Uche Ogah, who is running for governorship in Abia State, and Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, who declared her ambition to contest for a senatorial seat in Plateau State.
Yesterday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered his cabinet ministers who were considering running for office in the 2023 general election to resign.
After purchasing nomination and expression of interest forms on behalf of Nwajiuba, it was learned that he submitted his resignation letter on April 28. On their part, Onu and Akpabio, it was also gathered, submitted their letters of resignation to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, said President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered all ministers with political ambitions to resign by Monday, May 16, 2022.
Mallam Garba Shehu, the president’s spokesman, said in a separate interview that the president’s directive to the ministers took effect immediately.
“The mandate I have from the president is to announce that all members of the FEC contesting for elective office must resign their ministerial cabinet appointments on or before Monday, the 16th of May, 2022,” said the information minister after the cabinet meeting.
During a question about whether the directive would affect the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Mohammed said, “The vice president was elected, he wasn’t appointed.”
The minister explained that the directive would likely be extended to non-cabinet members, including Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, who may also run for president.
“As of this moment, the mandate I have is for members of the Federal Executive Council,” he said. Other political appointees may be affected as a result, but that will be made clear. You will be notified if there are any changes or additions in the future.”
Presidency spokesperson Garba Shehu said President Muhammadu Buhari asked the political-ambitious cabinet members at the FEC meeting to follow in the footsteps of Education Minister Akinwunmi Akinwunmi.
Ministers who purchased nomination forms to run for president have been given a directive by President Muhammadu Buhari,” Shehu said in Hausa after the cabinet meeting.
Minister of State for Education Nwajiuba bought resignation papers and submitted them to him as a model for them to follow. For the president, any candidate for any elected official who has purchased a ballot form should immediately resign and face his ambition. In other words, that was the order he gave.
A candidate for the presidency should not hold a position of power. People need to understand that regardless of whether or not there is a law, the president is in charge of appointing and removing any appointee he chooses to put in office. What will they do now that he has asked them to step down immediately?”
According to the president, a circular from the Secretary of the Government of the Federation will be issued soon to explain which political appointees will be affected by the directive.
I recommend that you wait for the circular issued by the secretary of the government,” Shehu stated. It will be explained in the circular to those who will be impacted.”
Ngige said the president gave those who needed clarification on his statement a window to meet with him and added that he would meet Buhari for an explanation while reacting to the development. As a minister in the government, he said he would consult the government and his state before making any decisions.
In response to the criticism, Ngige said, “I do not respond to now because the president said if anyone wants clarifications, the person should meet him.
I have to consult him and my Anambra State constituents because I am holding the office for the government and my constituency, so I must consult them both.
Another civil society group applauded Buhari’s order for ministers with political ambition to resign.
On Tuesday, civil society organizations (CSOs) urged President Buhari to relieve ministers running for elective office of their duties or face a Nigerian uprising.
On Monday, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) released a statement saying, “We commend President Buhari for taking this laudable step and listening to Nigerians’ call for free and fair elections, following the issuance of his directives that all members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) running for elective office must submit the required documentation.”
Statement: “We hope that this directive takes full effect pending legislation on the Court of Appeal’s decision to Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022, which made it mandatory for political appointees to resign from office before they could vote as delegates or vie for any elective position,” the statement read.
To be sure, this action puts to rest concerns about complicity in the impunity with which some political appointees have expressed their political interests ahead of the forthcoming general election, disregarding completely both the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and the sensibilities of Nigerians whose collective resources were diverted to satisfy personal political ambitions.
Public outcry against these illegal activities has been strong. The decision of our leader now is a welcome one that responds to the aspirations of our people.
These groups also called on all political parties to demonstrate moral and ethical standards that would ensure a democratic election and avoid commercialization and proliferation of money politics, which would exclude patriotic Nigerians from voting.
