The House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review is examining a bill aimed at limiting the number of ministers a president can appoint to 37
The proposed bill, titled;
is currently under consideration by the committee, which is chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
Sponsored by lawmakers Mansur Soro (representing Darazo/Ganjuwa) and Lawan Bukar (representing Kaga/Gubio/Magumeri), the bill seeks to amend Section 147 (1) of the Constitution, which currently does not impose a specific limit on ministerial appointments.
The proposed amendment would read:
At present, under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the Federal Executive Council includes 45 ministers, consisting of both substantive ministers and ministers of state.
The goal of the constitutional amendment is to address a number of problems. The bill aims to prevent duplication of duties, streamline ministerial responsibilities, and lower the cost of governance, according to lawmaker Mansur Soro. As demonstrated by Ogun State, which has four ministers, the current system permits more than one minister per state in certain circumstances, thus he again underlined the necessity of equity in ministerial nominations.
In order to guarantee equitable representation and boost the effectiveness of governance, Soro contended that each state should have one minister and the Federal Capital Territory should be taken into account. There are other government organisations and parastatals that can absorb more technocrats, he added, if the president so desires.
The committee is also debating a another draft that would change Section 62 of the Constitution to use the federal character principle for choosing the major officers of the National Assembly.
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