Two members of the cabinet of outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, described the establishment of Minister of State portfolios as unconstitutional.
Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, and Ramatu Aliyu, the Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, described the designation which they have held for about four years as a constitutional aberration.
“Mr. President, the concept or designation of ‘Minister of State’ is a constitutional aberration and is practically not working for many so appointed,” Mr Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said in his farewell message during the valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday.
Minister of State as used in Nigeria is a euphemism for junior minister, an equivalent of under-secretary in some Western countries.
Successive Nigerian presidents have created the positions of Minister of State to accommodate as much as possible loyalists and political…
