The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, on Monday accused ministers serving in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari as spearheading crisis during the just-concluded ward and local government congresses of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
While listing the ministers to include the ministers of Communications, Adebayo Shittu; Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi; Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyema, the group called on Buhari to rein in his “politically-ambitious” ministers.
HURIWA stated that the “overwhelming interests displayed by serving ministers and the amount of man-hour spent pursuing their selfish political ambitions are a major drawback to the successful implementation of governmental policies,” stressing that this has “rendered the federal cabinet of the current administration rudderless and in a dangerous auto-plot level at grave costs to the public”.
This was contained in a statement issued by the HURIWA national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the national media affairs director Miss Zainab Yusuf, which noted that, “the Minister of Women Affairs who vowed to follow Atiku Abubakar if he quits the ruling party is virtually not working for the public good and seems to have disappeared into thin air whilst investors in the nation’s real sector have reportedly lost a whooping N729 billions due to apprehensions created by the factional infighting that characterise the preparations for the year 2019 elections. ”
The civil rights body called for the immediate disbandment and reconstitution of the “near- moribund executive council of the federation” by President Muhammadu Buhari so the ship of state will not continue to remain adrift and dangerously sinking.
HURIWA also faulted Buhari’s commendation of his Mines and Steel minister for emerging victorious in the governorship primaries in Ekiti State, “even when the said minister absconded from his national duties as federal cabinet minister to pursue his private political aspirations whilst still holding on to the public office and enjoying all the privileges and advantages over and above other co-contestants in the same party”.
The group warned of severe economic challenges should the direction and focus of the federal government continues to be dominated by the politics of 2019, insisting that Buhari must relieve his ministers now of their onerous political positions on the ground of principle and national ethics.
HURIWA also “condemned the activities of some of the ministers who have cornered battalions of soldiers and armed police to use these armed security operatives to fight to achieve their selfish political goals even when ordinary Nigerians are being slaughtered by armed Fulani herdsmen and other hoodlums.”
Noting that the ministers were constitutionally picked to assist the president implement pro-people policies, it said, “This misconduct of pursuing selfish political aggrandizement whilst holding on to public offices is a constitutional violation which must not continue”, and cited section 148 (1) (2) (a) (b) (c) and 149 of the 1999 constitution on why serving ministers who nurse ambitions for elective offices should quit or be dismissed forthwith.
HURIWA “cited instances whereby the ministers such as those of Communications and Foreign Affairs were seen organising parallel ward and local government primary elections of the All progressives congress thereby neglecting their national calling as cabinet level ministers has demonstrated the veracity in the widely held claim that the current Federal Executive Council is dead”.
The Rights group also referred “to the alleged ignominious role of the Transportation Minister in Rivers State even as the group has therefore demanded that those ministers who have been seen abandoning their mandate to seek personal political glories should be sacked”.
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