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1999 Constitution does not prevent VP from handling security issues, Keyamo counters Okowa

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The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has said that the 1999 constitution doesn’t restrict the vice-president from handling security matters.

It would be recalled that the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kashim Shettima, while speaking at the recent Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Lagos, said if his party wins, he will focus on security, while Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, will concentrate on the economy.

While reacting to Shettima’s comment, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa Delta and vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had said it would be absurd for a vice-president to take charge of the nation’s security.

According to Okowa, security matters are the responsibility of the president as the commander-in-chief who presides over the security council.

But countering the PDP vice-presidential candidate’s position in a Twitter post, Keyamo said since the president can assign any responsibility to his deputy, it will not be absurd for a vice-president to handle security matters.

“I respectfully disagree, your Excellency. Under the 1999 Constitution, the President may assign any responsibility within his purview to either his VP or Ministers.

“This may include some aspects of security issues too. That is why, for instance, you have a Minister of Defence.

“It is possible, your Excellency, that in the well-known forward-thinking nature of Bola Tinubu, possible assignment of some responsibilities in this regard have been discussed with his VP-to-be and H.E Shettima just can’t wait to hit the ground running. This is not absurd, sir.

“When H.E Shettima says ‘taking charge’, it’s in the context of discharging responsibilities assigned to him by Bola Tinubu.

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“But he will report back to his boss just as your principal Atiku Abubakar was reporting to Obasanjo since he wasn’t in a position to make any final decision,” Keyamo stated.

 

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