Festus Keyamo, minister of state for labour and employment,
says the 1999 constitution doesn’t restrict the vice-president from handling
security matters.
Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in
Lagos recently, Kashim Shettima, vice-presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), had said if his party wins, he will focus on
security, while Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, will concentrate
on the economy.
Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta and vice-presidential
candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while reacting to Shettima’s
comment, had said it would be “absurd” for a vice-president to take charge of
the nation’s security.
According to Okowa, security matters are the responsibility
of the president as the commander-in-chief who presides over the security
council.
But countering the PDP vice-presidential candidate’s
position in a Twitter post on Wednesday, Keyamo said since the president can
assign any responsibility to his deputy, it will not be absurd for a
vice-president to handle security matters.
“I respectfully disagree, your Excellency. Under the 1999
Constitution, the President may assign any responsibility within his purview to
either his VP or Ministers,” Keyamo wrote.
“This may include some aspects of security issues too. That
is why, for instance, you have a Minister of Defence.
“It is possible, your
Excellency, that in the well-known forward-thinking nature of Bola Tinubu,
possible assignment of some responsibilities in this regard have been discussed
with his VP-to-be & H.E Shettima just can’t wait to hit the ground running.
This is not absurd, sir.
“When H.E Shettima says ‘taking charge’, it’s in the context
of discharging responsibilities assigned to him by Bola Tinubu.
“But he will report back to his boss just as your principal
Atiku Abubakar was reporting to Obasanjo since he wasn’t in a position to make
any final decision.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday1. I respectfully disagree, your Excellency. Under the 1999 Constitution, the President may assign ANY RESPONSIBILITY within his purview to either his VP or Ministers. This may include some aspects of security issues too. That is why, for instance, you have a Minister of Defence. https://t.co/SLzvjbg8jv
— Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) August 31, 2022
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com