Buhari gave the consequential commendation at the FEC meeting on Wednesday.
From all indications, Nwajiuba may turn out the only Minister among the number seeking elective office to have resigned latest 30 days to the presidential primary election of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as provided for in the party’s guidelines.
Pointblanknews.com has confirmed that Nwajiuba turned in his resignation on April 28, 2022.
He is obviously in a good stead in the eyes of both the Party guidelines that require resignation 30 days before primary election and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which requires appointees to resign 30 days before the general election.
Others have apparently fallen short of the 30 days to primary election resignation requirement.
But they are protected by the provision of the Nigerian Constitution at Section 137 (1)(g).
Section Section 37 (1) g
says that “such a person (i.e the individual contesting for the office of the President) is not qualified if he/she is a person employed in the civil or public service of the Federation or of any State, and he/she has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from the employment at least thirty days before the date of the election.”
Regardless, Buhari, as learnt, was angry with the other ministers at the FEC meeting for pussyfooting over their obligatory resignation.
The directive was issued on a day the Appeal Court declared as unconstitutional Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act, which abridges the constitutional right of appointive officers to vote and be voted for at the convention or primary election a political party.
The section 84(12) reads: “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”
But the celebratory mood of the ministers was cut shot by the President’s directive to them to resign latest May 16, 2022.
He had reportedly singled out the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba for braving the odds to quit to avoid conflict of interest.
But other Ministers seeking to be Governors, Senators and House of Representatives members were busy trying to seek clarifications if they were affected.
The President gave the quit notice at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting.
He was quoted to have said: “I expect other members of this council seeking to be President to resign with immediate effect.”
A source in the cabinet was reported to have said: “We were not clear if this directive will affect other ministers aspiring to be governors, Senators and House of Representatives members.
“We are expecting more clarifications soon.”
Some of the presidential aspirants in the employ of the federal government include Governor of Central Bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele; the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Makami (SAN), among others.