Criticism Trails Ministerial List

PROTESTS have trailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list, as a human rights group and some indigenes of Southern Kaduna have petitioned the National Assembly, urging it to reject one of the nominees believed to have been sent by Kaduna State Governor, Ahmed Nasir El-Rufai.

The group, Centrum Initiative for Development and Fundamental Rights Initiative (CEDRA), in a petition to the three senators representing Kaduna State at the National Assembly, argued that the said nominee from Kaduna State, Amina Mohammed, was from Gombe State, and as such, shouldn’t be cleared.

Chairman of the group, Dr. John Danfulani, who mobilised people of Southern Kaduna, at the weekend, against what he termed “injustice” over Governor El-Rufai’s candidate, explained that the nomination was against the provisions of the constitution.

According to him, “Usually, the political offices in Kaduna State have always been fairly shared and distributed among the three Senatorial Districts in line with the principles of Federal Character enshrined in section 14 (3) and (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Where the Governor comes from the North Kaduna Senatorial District, the Deputy Governor and the Ministerial slot will be zoned to South Kaduna and Central Kaduna will then take other key positions.”

Danfulani argued: “The attention of CEDRA has been drawn to the ministerial nominee representing Kaduna State in the person of one, Amina Mohammed. We have serious objection to her nomination. Our objection is predicated on the fact that we have reasons to believe that she is not an indigene of Kaduna State as provided in the Constitution. She is an indigene of Gombe State”.

Quoting the provisions of the 1999 constitution, as amended, Danfulani stated in a petition addressed to the three Senators representing Kaduna State in the National Assembly, saying that Section 147(1), (2) and (3) of the Constitution provides that a minister nominated must be an indigene of the state he or she was nominated from.

He further remarked: “from the constitutional provisions, each state of the Federation must have a Minister, who must be an indigene of that state. If the nomination of Amina Mohammed is allowed by the Senators, especially, you, the Distinguished Senators from Kaduna State, the indigenes of the State will be short-changed; and this will be unconstitutional.”

The Southern Kaduna people, who sent a copy of the petition to the National Assembly, specifically enjoined the Senators representing Kaduna State, Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi of North Kaduna Senatorial District, Senator Shehu San of Central Kaduna and Senator Danjuma Tella La’ah of South Kaduna, to reject the nomination of Mohammed and request her replacement.

Danfulani said: “We pray that you will use your good offices to reject the nomination of the said Amina Mohammed and direct that an indigene of Kaduna State, preferably from Southern Kaduna senatorial district, be nominated and sent to the Senate for screening. The need to have a nominee from Southern Kaduna is very important if the power sharing formulae in the state is to be maintained and to give the people a sense of belonging at the federal level.”