Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, says it will be absurd for
a vice-president to take charge of the nation’s security.
Okowa, who is the vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), was reacting to the comment made by Kashim Shettima,
the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference
last week in Lagos, Shettima said he will concentrate on fighting insecurity,
while Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, will focus on fixing the
economy — if they are elected in the 2023 elections.
“I have been in the theatre of conflicts for 18 years. I
will lead the troops, my principal is an economy wizard who has transformed
Lagos into the third largest economy in Africa. He will concentrate on the
economy,” he had said.
“By God’s grace, I will handle the security, and not only
handle the security, I will lead the troops to battle across the length and
breadth of this country.”
Reacting to the comment in a video published by Daily Trust
on Wednesday, Okowa said a vice-president cannot take over the constitutional
responsibility of the president.
“I don’t want to talk about their policies. If the
vice-president will take charge of security, is he (the president) not going to
preside over the security council at the federal level? I don’t understand
that. Because there is a commander-in-chief. Is there a reversal in position?”
he asked.
“He can offer advice. But I’ll find it absurd that he speaks
about: ‘I’ll take charge of it’. Possibly they have agreed that he’s to be the
commander-in-chief.”
WHAT DOES THE
CONSTITUTION SAY?
Shettima’s remark, which has been taken to suggest that if
elected, he will act as the nation’s chief security officer, has elicited
varied reactions from Nigerians.
The 1999 constitution vests the exclusive authority of the
commander-in-chief on the president.
Section 130 (2) reads: “The President shall be the Head of
State, the Chief Executive of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces of the Federation”.
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