A Lagos-based advocacy group, the Law and
Good Governance Group, has called on the
national and states’ Houses of Assembly not to
be distracted by the petitions filled before
them against certain nominated persons.
The group said it was particularly concerned
about certain petitions that were purportedly
written in respect of certain retired civil
servants being considered for cabinet positions
in Lagos State.
The Executive Director, LGGG, Dr. Festus
Odunlami, said the lawmakers should not
forget that the law ought to guide them “in
determining the effect of a private petition on
the eligibility of a nominee for the office of
either a minister or commissioner.”
Cited one of the provisions for disqualification,
Odunlami said a nominee could be disqualified
if he “is under a sentence of death imposed on
him by a competent court of law or tribunal in
Nigeria or a sentence of imprisonment or fine
for an offence involving dishonesty by fraud
(by whatever name called) or any other
offences imposed on him by such court or
tribunal substituted by a competent authority
for any other sentence imposed on him by
such a court or tribunal.”
Also, it said a nominee could only be
disqualified if “he has been indicted for
embezzlement of fraud by a judicial
commission of inquiry or Administrative Panel
of Inquiry or an or a tribunal set up under the
tribunal of Inquiry Act, a tribunal of Inquiry
law or any other law by the Federal and State
Government which indictment has been
accepted by the Federal or State Government,
respectively.”
The group recalled that although the 1999
constitution envisaged a situation where a
nominee could be disqualified, it was evident
that the Constitution “is very clear in stating
that a person can only be disqualified if he has
been indicted or convicted by any of the
following: a court, a tribunal, a judicial
commission of inquiry, an administrative panel
of inquiry set up by Law or the Code of
Conduct Tribunal.”
The statement added, “We wish to state,
therefore, that the framers of these
constitutional provisions placed these strict
conditions to prevent third parties from
placing non-judicial decisions of questionable
validity as hurdles to the election of a
nominee.
“They (the lawmakers) should not be seen to
be departing from the same constitution that
created the laws
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