Femi Falana Tells Tinubu To Stop Parading Self As Petroleum Minister, With ‘Strong’ Reason

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, urged President Bola Tinubu to cease presenting himself as the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

He emphasized that such a portrayal is inappropriate since the President did not undergo screening by the National Assembly before assuming the position.

Falana expressed this viewpoint in Abuja during the public unveiling of a book titled “Dis Life No Balance; An Anthropology of Nigerian Diaspora Voices,” co-authored by Professors Farooq Kperogi, Moses Ochonu, and Dr. Osmund Agbo.

While advising Tinubu against emulating former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, who served as ministers of petroleum during their tenures, Falana contended that the President’s dual role as a minister of petroleum is in violation of section 147 of the Constitution.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, echoing the recent stance of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on Tinubu’s position as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, asserted that this arrangement hampers the country’s ability to hold the NNPC limited accountable.

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“Last week, a former governor of the central bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, advised President Bola Tinubu against occupying the office of the Minister of Petroleum Resources saying such an arrangement makes it difficult for the country to hold the NNPC limited accountable.

“We paid N11trn in 8 years under President Muhammadu Buhari to import oil or fuel. Why has there been no investigation? With respect, this is my answer, President Bola Tinubu is not the Minister of Petroleum Resources as his nomination was never sent to the senate for screening as mandatorily required by section 147 of the Constitution.

“My advice is that the President should not parade himself as the minister of petroleum resources like President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari,” he said.

The book reviewer, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, a former presidential spokesman, said the 381-page book was well-edited with quality content and quality publication, saying that it expresses the authors’ disappointment about the turn of events in the country.