Lawmakers Push for Minister Limit to 37 in Nigeria

A proposal to modify the 1999 Constitution to limit the number of ministers chosen by the president to 37 is presently being considered by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Review.
The committee, chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, is currently considering this proposal, which is headed “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Streamline the Number of Ministers to be Appointed to the Federal Executive Council.”

Representatives from the Darazo/Ganjuwa and Kaga/Gubio/Magumeri Federal Constituencies of Bauchi and Borno states, respectively, are sponsors of the measure, according to Lagmen Net.

The purpose of the bill is to amend Section 147 (1) of the Constitution to read, “The President may establish such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, not exceeding 37.”

It is important to note that President Bola Tinubu’s Federal Executive Council now has 45 ministries, including ministries of State and substantive ministers.

The president of Nigeria typically selects a minister from each of the 36 states that make up the federation, while additional appointments may be made depending on a number of factors.

In order to address duplication of duties, reduce the cost of governance, and improve service efficiency at the federal level, the bill aims to amend the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution to specify the maximum number of ministers to be appointed to the Federal Executive Council, Mansur Soro, a lawmaker from Bauchi, stated in an interview with The PUNCH.

In addition to addressing instances of ministerial mandate overlap and inequity in the number of ministers to be nominated from each state, we also need to lower the cost of government. A minister per state is sufficient, in my opinion, taking into account the Federal Capital Territory,” he continued.

In order to include technocrats, the congressman elected on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform disagreed with the idea that the president can name more than two ministers from a single state.

The president can include technocrats or politicians in a number of other important government bodies and extra ministerial parastatals. Other states only have one minister apiece, however Ogun State currently has four.

The lawmaker questioned whether this arrangement was fair.

In a similar issue, the Kalu-led committee is discussing a bill that would change Section 62 of the Constitution to guarantee that the federal character principle is followed when choosing the National Assembly’s primary officers.