The Arewa Youths for the Sustainance of Democracy and Good Governance (AYSDGG) on Monday described the appointment of Lawal Samaila Abdullahi Yakawada as the Chairman of All Boards of Commissions under the Federal Ministry of Regional Development as illegal.
The group said that the appointment was unconstitutional, violated the act that established the Development Commissions.
Coordinator and secretary of the group, Aliyu Musa Aliyu, Lawal Abdullahi, and other officials of the Association said this during a press conference at the Chartwell Hotel in Bauchi.
Aliyu said that the Commissions were established by law until the act is amended by the National Assembly, if not no one has the power to go outside the act that established them.
He explained that the unilateral appointment of Chairman of Regional Development Commissions by the Minister, without proper legal and constitutional authority, is ultra vires, unconstitutional, null and void.
He further said that such appointments amount to a usurpation of Presidential and National Assembly powers under the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the enabling Acts establishing the respective Commissions.
The Coordinator said that the unilateral appointments violated the principles of separation of powers and due process under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and the action undermines transparency, federal character, and good governance.
He said that the enabling laws establishing the Regional Development Commissions vest appointment powers in the President, subject to Senate confirmation, not the Minister.
Aliyu called on stakeholders such as the National Assembly, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), security agencies, law enforcement agencies, the media, Civil Society Organisations, among others, to come together to defend the law of the land by ensuring that the Development Commissions that provide succour and rebuild the region are not gagged through undue appointments.
The coordinator of the group, Musa Aliyu, calls on the minister to follow the path of honour and reverse his decision, or else they will be left with no option but to challenge the matter through all legal means.
The group appeals to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to call the minister to order as a mark of respect to the rule of law
