Step down, Sagay advises Saraki, Ndume

Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, has advised the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Majority Leader, Ali Ndume, to step down in the interest of the nation.

Sagay, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, noted that Ndume was in court following allegations of sponsoring Boko Haram while Saraki might still be under investigation.

The legal luminary said in advanced countries, people with questionable integrity were never allowed to hold sensitive positions.

Specifically, Sagay said Ndume was not the majority leader but was picked by Saraki which was against the spirit of the Senate.

He said, “I cannot say Ndume is the majority leader because he was picked by Saraki. Normally, the majority leader is meant to be picked by the party with the highest number of senators in the Senate and not by the Senate President.

“However, Ndume is still in court for allegedly sponsoring Boko Haram and that is a very serious issue. Saraki himself has not been cleared of allegations of fraud. Under normal circumstances, both Saraki and Ndume should not hold such sensitive positions.”

Also speaking on the issue of ministerial appointments, Sagay disagreed with Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, that the constitution did not mandate the President to appoint 37 ministers at once.

Keyamo had said although the constitution states that every state must produce a minister, President Muhammadu Buhari did not need to appoint all the ministers at once, suggesting that Buhari could appoint based on rotation in order to reduce the cost of governance.

However, Sagay said the constitution intends for every state to have a minister at the same time.

He, however, said in order to reduce the cost of governance, Buhari could reduce the number of ministries and then appoint various ministers of state.

He said, “The constitution implies that every state must have a minister at the same time. Also, the rotation of ministers would not be politically wise. Does it mean that if a minister is doing well, you will remove him because you want to satisfy another state?

“I think if the President wants to reduce cost, he can reduce the number of ministries and then appoint two ministers in each of the ministries. There will be a senior minister and then a junior one which is a minister of state.

“By so doing, he will obey the constitution and also cut costs.”