President Muhammadu Buhari and former military Head of State Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar met yesterday in a closed-door meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Abdusalami arrived at the State House at 3.30p.m for the meeting, which lasted for about 30 minutes.
He declined to speak with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.
SIR: ”The President of Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not, during his tenure in office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever”- Section 138, Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. Pursuant to the quoted Section, the President is expressly, definitively and unambiguously not allowed/disallowed from holding any other executive position throughout the duration of his presidency.
President Muhammadu Buhari chose to formally inform fellow citizens of his intention to retain the Petroleum Resources ministerial portfolio during his recent visit to New York, in the United States of America.
The unstated precedent that may have encouraged President Buhari to do likewise is the fact that his predecessor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, also held on to the office throughout the latter’s tenure, from 1999 to 2007, in violation of Section 138 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
It is possible that former President Obasanjo and incumbent President Buhari may have relied, or may be relying on the seemingly broad power of the office of the President, pursuant to Section 5(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which states: “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation shall be vested in the President and may subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation”.
However, I believe it is settled in law that where certain provisions of any grundnorm are ambiguous on a particular subject matter, the existence of any prohibitive provision effectively circumscribes and supersedes every other section which may suggest otherwise.
This means that the express prohibition provision as slated in Section 138 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, effectively precludes President Buhari from appointing himself Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources and, therefore, also does not allow him/disallows him from exercising the substantive power and authority of the referred executive office.
Accordingly, the widely reported speculation that the President is likely to nominate Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, should also be reviewed and not be allowed to take place.
Going ahead with this plan is most likely to violate certain provision of the Nigerian Petroleum Act, 1969, which clearly stated the functions of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Board of NNPC, the GMD of NNPC and other agencies.
Since President Buhari has an established reputation as a dogged advocate for the rule of law, I hereby invite other more learned persons and constitutional authorities to weigh in on this very important subject matter, in order to prevent the President from perpetrating a constitutional breach which is ongoing.
Epe, Lagos State.
Founding National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Southeast Chief Nyerere Chinenye Anyim has expressed confidence in the ministerial nominees from the zone, saying they formed part of the best the region can offer.
Anyim said the zonal leadership would support the nominees to enable them achieve the best for the country.
He said what Nigerians expected from the team was hard work and selfless service. “What the President has done is the best. We are talking about the likes of Chris Ngige and Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.
“These are credible people and I believe they will bring development to Nigeria and to Igbo land. The essence of politics is to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people and that is what these people are bringing to the table
“We must differentiate between those who are coming to play politics and those who will work. We are looking at people who are ready to make sacrifices; we are not looking at people who will come and play politics with the welfare of the people.
“Look at the antecedents of the nominees, they have track records. When people talk about their ages, I tell them it is beyond that. In as much as we wish that younger people be given the opportunity to serve, we should know there are other capacities where they can serve. We need these old men,” Anyim said.
Speaking on the perceived imbalance that trailed the earlier appointments, the APC chieftain assured the people that the area would get its fair share of appointments and development from the APC-led administration.
“I am not among those complaining about the appointments. What I still maintain is that the zone will get its due share. When you look at the ratio of appointments, you will see that the zone has not been left behind.
“The issue is not about the number of appointments from a zone but what it was able do with such opportunity. In the past, the Southeast never complained over appointments but what did it do with what it was given? What matters is the effectiveness to which the positions were put.
“I think these are credible people and I believe they are one of the best the zone can boast of, he said.
Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), on Thursday pleaded with Nigerians to give President Mohammadu Buhari more time to fix the country’s problems.
Gowon, who noted that governance is never an easy affair, said “Nigeria is not an easy place to govern,” hence the propriety of giving any new government time to first put things in order.
The ex-Nigeria leader spoke to journalist at the Ikenne home of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, shortly after leading a delegation of the Awolowo Foundation to condole with the family on the death of Chief (Mrs.) Hannah Idowu Dideolu Awolowo last month.
Gowon said:”Let me tell you this, it was not easy. When I became Head of State, I hoped that within three months or six months at most, we would be done. But when you have problems in a nation, it is not easy to do them overnight. So, you’ve always got to give time and you’ve got to be patient for leaders to be able to get things in order.
“Whenever any government comes in, give them time to be able to really put things right. Nigeria is not an easy place to govern.
“I can assure there are as many problems as there are Nigerians in the world and everybody wants to do things in a particular way, in his own way and probably for his own interest.
“And you think of that, how are you going to get all that put together and put things right? I think we’ve got to be patient and cooperate with the government to do the right thing.
“We should never be tired of telling the government what needed to be done in order to improve things.”
President Muhammadu Buhari and former military Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, met behind closed-door at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.
Abdusalami arrived the State House at about 3:30pm for the private meeting that lasted for about 30 minutes.
He declined to speak with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting.
Former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to learn from steps taken by other members of the Organization of Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) and diversify Nigeria’s economy.
Carrington noted that diversification of the economy was important to lessen the dependence on petroleum, which according to him, provides an outsized portion of the national budget.
He warned that until Nigeria is able to rely less on capital intensive sectors of the economy and focus more on labor intensive ones, it would be difficult to meet its ambitious goals of making the country one of the world’s 20 most important economies.
He spoke on a topic: “Nigeria and future of the black world,” at the first eminent lecture series organised by the University of Benin.
His wife, Dr. Arese, spoke on “The female imperative in the new Africa.”
Carrington said the fact that Nigeria’s current yield per hectare is less than 50 percent of comparable developing countries demonstrates how much Nigeria has abandoned its once promising agricultural sector.”
He observed that from 2006 till date Nigeria’s overall unemployment rate rose from 6.4 percent to 24.20 at the same time many were celebrating Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate.
The envoy pointed out that the sustainability of Nigeria’s growth rate was in doubt because of the near collapse of oil price worldwide.
President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a 260-kilometre super highway being undertaken by the Cross River State Government.
The ceremony was initially billed for September 21.
The super highway is to serve as the evacuation route for the Bakassi Deep Seaport, a signature project of the Governor Ben Ayade-led administration.
But there is excitement in the state, especially in the communities where the groundbreaking ceremony will be performed by the President.
In Obung Village in Akamkpa Local Government Area, the village head, Ntufam Boniface Edet, and the youth president, Mr. Philip Ogar, expressed their community’s delight that the President would be visiting.
Ogar said the super highway passing through his community would bring a lot of benefits to his people and other neighbouring communities.
He said the community’s youths and their neighbours were excited about the project and what the governor was doing.
He hoped that the multi-billion naira project would “aggressively open up their area to development as many businesses will spring up, creating employment opportunities for the people”.
The youth president hailed the governor for his vision and drive, assuring that his community would support the governor and provide whatever assistance that would be required to ensure that the project is achieved.
Also speaking, an environmentalist attached to the project, Mr. Francis Njeni, said his responsibility was to take stock of all the different species of trees that would be cleared to give way for the road and would ensure the replanting of such species in accordance with the policy of the state government.
Njeni explained that for every tree that would be cleared, two or three of such tree would be replanted.
The inclusion of Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, who was recently appointed as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in the ministerial list took many by surprise. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI examines the antecedents the ministerial nominee from Delta State and perhaps why President Muhammadu Buhari opted to have him in the cabinet.
Among the list of 21 ministerial nominees so far forwarded to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu’s name stands out in many respects. Unlike the other nominees, he is not a politician and a card-carrying member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Contrary to public expectation, Buhari’s list is made up of former governors, former lawmakers and other party chieftains who contributed immensely to the emergence of the APC as the ruling party at the centre. Since President Buhari was not obliged to nominate him because he played a role in the success of the party at the polls, he must have been included in the list on his merit.
Contrary to public expectation, the list does not contain surprises. But, Kachikwu, whose recent emergence as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) received a wide acclaim, was perhaps one of the few surprises.
Going by indications from the Presidency, it is understandable why Kachikwu is in the list. Though the list does not indicate to which ministry the nominees would be assigned, Kachikwu is probably the one that would emerge as the Minister of State, to oversee the day-to-day activities of Petroleum Ministry. After signaling that he would take up the position of Petroleum Minister, President Buhari on Monday indicated that he would leave the post vacant, according to his spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina. “He can’t be president and oil minister at the same time,” Adesina said, adding: “He will supervise the ministry, so there will be no Petroleum Minister. Maybe he will appoint a Minister of State, which is a junior minister.”
According to observers, this makes a lot of sense, because bringing in a fresh face as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and by extension the man that would oversee the NNPC where the Onicha Ugbo, Delta State-born Kachikwu is at the helm of affairs may mar the reforms already taking place within the ministry, which is widely regarded as the cash-cow of the Nigerian economy. With the emerging set up, Kachikwu is likely to remain the GMD of the corporation. In this way, he would take part in policy formulation as a member of the Federal Executive Council and drive the implementation of same at the Petroleum Ministry.
Thus, the new kid on the block who has more than 30 years experience in policy-making positions in petroleum industry appeared to have impressed President Buhari within the short span of time he has spent as the chief Executive officer of the NNPC. Those who know Kachikwu say he is modest and humble by nature and is usually passionate and committed to what whatever goal he sets for himself. No doubt, these are traits he shares in common with President Buhari.
An erudite scholar and businessman, Dr. Kachikwu, who worked at various times as an investment attorney in the United States; General Counsel with Texaco Upstream and Downstream in Nigeria; Executive Vice Chairman of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited; and General Counsel for ExxonMobil Nigeria affiliate Upstream and Downstream Companies in Nigeria, is the kind of technocrat expected to drive the Buhari administration. The President’s body language suggests that he is serious about sanitizing the country’s oil industry and he requires a technocrat like Kachikwu to provide the technical knowhow.
It is on record that he set major policy planks on, government relationship, investment policy and corporate governance for ExxonMobil in Africa and member of many highly influential policy and investment teams for ExxonMobil Corporation. He served as a lead negotiator on diverse issues for ExxonMobil in Africa, including the conclusion of Lease Renewal Negotiations for Mobil Producing and facilitated solid contacts in Global Energy Sphere with contacts to most chief executive officers (CEOs) of multinational petroleum corporations and secretaries of energy for key national country players for about three decades. His accomplishments include the authorship of several law books. He authored the bestseller – Nigerian Foreign Investment Law and Policy and more than 20 publications.
Nevertheless, Dr. Kachikwu has an ardours task before him: restructuring the NNPC, to allow it to allow it to operate as a business entity, by insulating it from the kind of political interference that has weighed it down over the years is not going to be easy. By opting to take up the position of Petroleum minister, President Buhari probably wants to make it clear to everyone that he intends to keep a close watch on the operations of NNPC. This is understandable, against the background of heart wrenching revelations of mind boggling malfeasance in the management of the corporation.
With the recent drop in global oil prices, Nigeria desperately needs more oil sales revenue to support government budgets, protect foreign reserves and help stop the ongoing devaluation of the national currency. That is perhaps why President Buhari has made the sanitisation of the oil sector a cardinal plank of his administration.
The report of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), who audited the account of NNPC recently, does not give the country something to cheer about. According to the global auditing firm, the problem with the NNPC is poor corporate governance. This was responsible for losses of billions of dollars annually. Blocking the leakages within the corporation is an essential part of the challenges that Dr. Kachikwu will confront.
But, with his private sector background, where best business practices and corporate good governance are sine qua non, Kachikwu comes highly recommended by his own pedigree in the industry.
Kachikwu, who was born on December 18, 1956 to late Justice Francis Kachikwu and Maria Kachikwu, has impressive academic credentials. He attended St. Peter’s Primary School Ogwashi-Uku before gaining admission into St. Pius Grammar School Onicha-Ugbo, which he left in 1968 with top level performance. He studied for Higher School Certificate (HSC) at Edo College, Benin City, from 1973 to 1974. He read law at the University of Nigeria 1978, where he made a first class result and emerged as the best graduating student. At the 1979 set of Nigerian Law School; he equally emerged with another First Class and the best graduate student, winning seven of the available nine prizes. At his LLM programme at Harvard University, in 1980, it was another First Class performance. His Doctorate degree programme did not come with lesser performance.
Kachikwu, who hails from Onicha Ugbo, in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, is married to two women, Elizabeth and Mariam. He holds the traditional titles of Odogwu and Omeudo of Onicha Ugbo. He was installed the 13th Odogwu on August 28, 2013.
Interestingly, Kachikwu was in the Nigerian Army before he went back for his LLM and LLD at the Harvard Law School, United States of America. That was probably where he met Buhari; they were both in the Congo. Indeed, the Delta State ministerial nominee was raised in the north. His father, a Justice, was transferred to the Katsina Appellate Court 51 years ago, where he was said to have met Buhari’s father, a considerably well-to-do cattle owner in Daura, Katsina State.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said he remained confident that Boko Haram’s ability to attack, seize and ravage any Nigerian territory would be completely stopped by December.
He spoke when the Commander of United States Africa Command, Gen. David Rodriguez, visited him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Buhari, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said with improved training, equipment, logistics and welfare by his administration, the Nigerian Armed Forces were now well-positioned to meet the December deadline, which they have been given to end the Boko Haram insurgency.
Buhari hailed United States’ support for Nigeria’s efforts to overcome terrorism and insurgency.
He said: “We must thank the U.S. for sending training teams and equipment to us. The positive results of our collaboration are evident.
“Structured attacks by the insurgents have reduced and by the end of the year, we should see the final routing of Boko Haram as an organised fighting force,” the president said.
He appealed for greater cooperation from the U.S. in securing the Gulf of Guinea through which stolen Nigerian crude oil is shipped abroad.
Decrying the severe revenue losses which Nigeria suffered from crude oil theft, Buhari said his administration was determined to end this criminal practice.
He added that the Federal Government would welcome more support from the international community in that regard.
Rodriguez told the President that he was in the country to strengthen Nigeria/U.S. military relations as well as explore further options for assisting the Multinational Joint Task Force established by Nigeria and its neighbours to fight Boko Haram.
President Muhammadu Buhari may have dropped a ministerial nominee, Musa Ibeto, to avert a political crisis in Niger State. Ibeto is the state’s immediate past deputy governor.
Buhari’s nomination of Ibeto was said to have altered the state’s power zoning formula.
Although Ibeto had undergone security checks, his nomination was said to have unsettled Governor Abubakar Bello.
A highly-placed source, who spoke with The Nation, said the President dropped him after much pressure. Ibeto defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC) on the eve of last elections.
The president has replaced him with Abubakar Bwari Bawa.
The source said: “The dropping of Ibeto had nothing to do with fraud. His nomination distorted the mutual power rotation formula in Niger State and it was causing political tension.
“The President was faced with the options of either putting the state in perpetual crisis or sacrificing Ibeto who contributed much to his victory. Ibeto did not only shelve his governorship ambition, he made sure he delivered the state to APC. Buhari recognised his personal hard work and sacrifice.
“The elders of Niger State, including top military elites, mounted pressure on Buhari to avert threats to the peaceful coexistence of the people of the state.”
Giving insights into the power rotation formula, the source added: “We have three zones (A, B, C) in the state and since 1999, all these zones have been mutually sharing power. This agreement made the people to consent to power shift to Zone C which led to the emergence of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello and his deputy from Zone A.
“Unaware of the zoning principle, President Buhari nominated Ibeto as a minister from Zone C where the governor hails from.
“The expectation of the people of the state was that the ministerial nominee will come from Zone B which has not got any high-level political appointment.
“Following pressure from political leaders, especially the military elite, Buhari was persuaded to ensure equity and fairness. The President bowed to pressure and appointed a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bwari, from Zone B.”
Another source said it was the second time the state was confronted with a similar challenge.
“Before Buhari’s difficult decision, Governor Bello had been attacked by many for not keeping faith with the power formula.
“This made his father-in-law, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, his father, Col. Sani Bello (who is a close friend of Buhari) and others to intervene. Eventually, Hon. Bwari, a godson of ex-President Ibrahim Babangida, got the slot to replace Ibeto.”
The source said: “When ex-Governor Babangida Aliyu (Zone B) was in power, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan had attempted to appoint ex-Deputy Governor Nuhu Zagbayi (Zone B) as the minister from Niger State but the elders in the state resisted it because any alteration of the power rotation formula can cause crisis.
The source said between 1999 and 2007, the governor (Abdulkadir Kure) came from Zone A, Deputy Governor, Nuhu Zagbayi (Zone B) and the Minister, Mustafa Bello (Zone C).
He said between 2007 and 2015, the power sharing was: Governor Babangida Aliyu (Zone B), Deputy Governor Musa Ibeto(Zone C) and Ministers (Sani Ndanusa, Zainab Kuchi, Asabe Ahmed) from Zone A.
The source said: “Definitely, Ibeto will bounce back for sacrificing his ministerial slot for the peace and unity of the state.”
Another source added: “The governor became a subject of blackmail. Critics had pointed out that, although he is from Niger North, he has picked his SSG from Niger North. If the minister is also from Niger North, it means that the zone has monopolised key state and federal appointments. Therefore, it was with pain that the governor accepted to complain to the President about Ibeto’s nomination on behalf of stakeholders.
“One fact that emerged when people started the protest was that the President did not carry anybody along during the nomination. It is his prerogative and it was clear that Ibeto was not imposed on him too. He picked him because of his experience, role and contributions to the success of the APC during the general elections.”
According to the source, the stakeholders believe that Ibeto should have disqualified himself, following the nomination, because he is very conversant with the formula for the distribution of appointments in the state.
He went on: “ The unwritten arrangement is sacrosanct. It is not a tradition that cannot be violated as people will always protest. We heard that the withdrawal of his name from the list was politely convened to him as a faithful party chieftain and eminent Nigerian. The President, we also learnt, did it with reluctance. In fact, some of our leaders said that, immediately, Ibeto was penciled down for a ambassadorial appointment, but he immediately declined it, saying that he is not disposed to leaving the country. But, we also know that, if any big appointment is coming to the state again, apart from the ministerial appointment, Ibeto will be a candidate.”