Some senior lawyers have backed the appointment of Hannatu Musawa as Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, by President Bola Tinubu, saying the Nigerian Constitution also supports her appointment.
The lawyers argued that the Constitution is superior to the NYSC Act.
Mr. Norrison Quakers (SAN) commended President Tinubu, saying her appointment is a youth empowerment initiative.“However, when you look at the provisions of Section 147 of the 1999 Constitution particularly sub-section 5, it states that no person shall be appointed as a Minister of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.“The question is what are the qualifications for election into the House of Representatives? This we find in section 106 of the 1999 constitution.
You must be a citizen of Nigeria, you must have attained the age of 25 years, and you have been educated up to at least a school certificate level, or its equivalent. You must be a member of a political party and you must be sponsored by that political party.
“What is causing the conflict is as regards her status and a youth corps member that is still serving. I have looked at the law, and I have not seen any constitutional limitations. I have also looked at Section 2 of the NYSC Act, there is no law that says, she must have finished service before she can be appointed as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he explained.
