Six legal practitioners have dragged President Muhammadu Buhari to court for failing to appoint a replacement for the late Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, James Ocholi. The lawyers are: Felix Okolo, Femi Victor Motojesi, Samuel Ogala, Dickson Enema, David Adegbe and Titilope Akerejola.
In a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lokoja with a number: FHC/LKJ/C/08/2017, the six lawyers described Buhari’s refusal to appoint a replacement for the late Ocholi as a breach of the constitution; and as such, prayed the court to declare that Buhari’s duty to appoint a Kogi state minister is mandatory.
They also prayed the court to order President Buhari and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami to, within 30 days of service, inclusive of the day of service to answer questions on the legal and constitutional effect of the president’s refusal to appoint a minister from Kogi state.
The originating summon sought reply to: “Whether the current composition of the federal executive council of the federation without a substantive minister representing Kogi state in the Federal Executive Council for over 10 months is not a breach of Section 143 (3) of the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
“Whether the failure of the first defendant to appoint a substantive minister from Kogi state into the Federal Executive Council is not a flagrant and violent breach of the principal of equality and justice upon which the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended is founded.
The lawyers also asked: “Whether by virtue of the provision of sections 147 (3) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, the first defendant has a mandatory duty to appoint an indigene of Kogi state as minister of the federation into the Federal Executive Council.”
The matter has been fixed for hearing on Wednesday, May 3 at the Federal High Court in Kogi state.
It could be recalled that James Ocholi (SAN) who was until his death a junior minister in Buhari’s cabinet had a fatal car accident on his way to Abuja at about 40 kilometres away from Kaduna and died on the spot, alongside his wife and son.
Ocholi hails from Kogi state.
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