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Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Minister of State
for Defence (middle) on a visit to a Naval Base
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A
civil society group, All Nigeria Save Democracy Movement, has kicked against
the ministerial nomination of former Peoples Democratic Party Lagos State
governorship aspirant, Senator Musliu Obanikoro, by President Goodluck
Jonathan.
The
group, in a petition to the Senate President, David Mark, through Senators
Gbenga Ashafa and Obafemi Ojudu, listed several reasons Obanikoro was not
qualified to become a minister, a statement said on Sunday.
According
to the group, Obanikoro is of dual citizenship–USA and Nigeria – and going by
the provisions of the constitution, he should be disqualified for the post.
It
said, “Section 147 (5) of the Constitution, as amended, provides that no person
shall be appointed as a minister of the government of the federation unless he
is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.
“Section
66 (1) (a) of the Constitution also states that no person shall be qualified
for election to the Senate or the House of Representatives if – subject to the
provisions of Section 28 of the Constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the
citizenship to a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be
prescribed by the National Assembly, has made a declaration of allegiance to
such a country.
“These
provisions are so clear as to remove any ambiguity as to the spirit and letter
of their constitutional/legal implications. By these provisions alone, Musiliu
Obanikoro was not even qualified in the first instance to run for the Senate of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but managed to manipulate the system to get
himself elected into the Senate in 1999, which in itself was fraudulent and
criminal. As a matter of fact, his title of senator should be nullified having
obtained same fraudulently.”
Obanikoro
had on October 15, 2014 resigned his ministerial appointment from the present
administration in a bid to contest the governorship primary of the PDP in
Lagos, which he lost to his rival, Jimi Agbaje.
After the loss, he was
nominated the second time by the President for another ministerial position.
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