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

even Jesus had disciple's

jazinogold:
even Jesus had disciple's

Naso o

He surely needs ministers,he is just taking his time and being cautious all the same

onomeglo:
He surely needs ministers,he is just taking his time and being cautious all the same

Exactly