The mid week appointment of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, as a Permanent Secretary by the Bayelsa State government drew more flak yesterday with constitutional lawyer, Professor Itsay Sagay, calling it a huge joke, comical and nonsense.
“It is a huge joke. It is comical. I don’t really know what they take us for. It is only in Nigeria that you can have such kind of bizarre announcement. It is nonsense,” Sagay told “The Nation on Saturday”.
Human rights activist and member of the Constitution Review Committee, Mr. Olisa Agabkoba (SAN), who is currently out of the country, expressed shock on phone saying: “That cannot be true.”
After a prolonged laughter, Agbakoba asked: “And did she accept it?”
He later promised to call back after a check on the story. He sent a text message that he was unable to confirm the story and said: “I can’t confirm, so, until I’m back.”
Activist and gubernatorial candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) for Lagos State in the last general elections, Comrade Ayodele Akele, would rather “wait and make some findings” before taking a stance on the issue.
According to Akele, “I don’t know her civil service background. I would advise that we find out some things about her history with the Bayelsa State civil service before making any statement.”
Continuing, Akele said: “We need to establish if she was in the state civil service and if she was on leave of absence when her husband became governor of the state. I won’t have any problem with it if she meets all the requirements for the appointment. I know the wives of some public officials who are in the civil service. We wouldn’t say such women should not be promoted because their husbands are public officials. So we should find her records of service before making a statement on whether she merits the appointment or not.”
President of the Campaign for Democracy (CD), Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, snapped: “It is shocking. It has turned governance to a huge joke. It’s the theatre of the absurd that can make Nigeria become a laughing stock in the comity of nations. The country is gradually becoming a banana republic.”
Victor Opara, lawyer and former Secretary General of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, said the appointment smacks of nepotism, and expressed hope that the First Lady would turn down the appointment.
“For me, this is nepotism of the highest order. However, there is nothing wrong with it if she is qualified.”
Opara said in a nation like Nigeria, “when you appoint your sister, brother or family members into a position of authority, people would read meanings to it. Sincerely, I don’t expect the First Lady to take the appointment.”
Deputy Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rotimi Abiru accused Governor Seriake Dickson of being unnecessarily generous in making the appointment.
Abiru said the governor was wrong to have promoted Mrs. Jonathan to Permanent Secretary when she is already occupying the office of the First Lady.
His words: “I don’t understand what informed the appointment because the position of a Permanent Secretary is meant for seasoned Civil Servants who have gone through many levels in the service. Permanent Secretaries are policy makers and they are the engine room of the government.
“Looking at the exalted position of the First Lady, though it is not constitutionally recognized, it is permitted by our own system of government. I wonder how the First Lady will cope with the position and still handle the work of a ministry. What has happened is morally reprehensible and should be condemned by all.”
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