Non-appointment of ministers shows Buhari’s military hangover – Nwabueze

Prof. Ben Nwabueze

Renowned law scholar and leader of the Concerned Igbo Leaders of Thought, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for delaying the appointment of ministers into his cabinet.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria described Buhari’s refusal to appoint ministers over 80 days after taking office as a reflection of Buhari’s military personality.

He said this was why former President Olusegun Obasanjo (also a former soldier) failed to appoint ministers on time as well.

He stated that the country’s constitution does not allow the President to govern the country for more than two months without ministers.

Nwabueze, in an article titled, “Constitutionality of President Buhari Ruling Nigeria For More Than Two And Half Months Without a Council Of Ministers: The Concerns of the Igbo Leaders Of Thought,” a copy of which was sent to The PUNCH on Wednesday, said the President was expected to consult with “various executive bodies” before presidential actions.

According to the professor of law, it is not likely that anyone other than a retired army general and former head of a military government would ever think of ruling the country for more than two and half months without ministers, knowing full well that the governmental system established for the country by the constitution does not permit him to do that.

“And yet, knowing his antecedents and the influence they must have on him, Nigerians elected him as ‘civilian’ President in the March 2015 election. His election cannot but portray Nigerians as incapable of learning from past experience, a people lacking the degree of political maturity and sagacity required for the successful working of constitutional democracy,” Nwabueze added.

The article read in part, “Since his inauguration on May 29, 2015, as elected ‘civilian’ President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, a retired army general and former head of the military government, has been ruling the country for more than two and half months without ministers.

“The President ruling for more than two and half months without ministers is really incredible, but, incredible as it is, we Nigerians, as a people, ought to have foreseen it from our experience of the dictatorial way former President Obasanjo who, like President Buhari, is a retired army general and former head of the military government, rode roughshod over the constitutional limitations on his powers.”