ABUJA — A FEDERAL High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday heard that President Olusegun Obasanjo was not under any obligation to appoint a minister of petroleum as required by law.
The Federal Government gave the hint yesterday at the resumed hearing of a suit filed by the Niger Delta Democratic Union (NDDU), challenging the refusal of President Obasanjo to appoint a minister of petroleum.
According to the Federal Government, President Obasanjo could perform the function of any minister with his constitutional roles but with the exclusion of justice minister’s. The president had consequently filed a preliminary objection to the hearing of the suit.
Mr. Samuel Ajayi from the Ministry of Justice who moved the preliminary objection yesterday said that the NDDU had no locus standi to challenge the president for not appointing a minister of petroleum. Ajayi canvassed arguments before the court yesterday to the effect that NDDU had woefully failed to show any special interest conferring it with the locus to maintain the action in court.
NDDU’s counsel, Robbinson Oluyemi however disagreed, saying that government’s objection was misconceived with no basis in law. According to him, the plaintiffs were Nigerians who have the right to be governed according to the laws of the land and not according to how elected leaders elect to rule them. Besides, maintained the plaintiffs, the people who constituted the union were from the Niger Delta, a recognized geo-political zone in the country which suffered environmental degradation due to oil exploration and therefore had more than an interest to challenge the president on the matter.
Said Ajayi: “the plaintiffs came to court because of the hardships Nigerians were undergoing in the area of petroleum products distribution and incessant increase in petroleum products’ prices. Besides, they have the right to come to court because they are citizens of Nigeria.”
He consequently asked the court to dismiss the objection in its entirety.
Giving background to the suit initiated against President Obasanjo, his attorney-general and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authourity (PPPRA), the plaintiffs, Messrs Austin Ayowe and Dafe Chuks on behalf of NDDU, narrated:
“Since the inception of democratic governance under President Obasanjo on May 29 1999 till date, the president has refused , neglected, failed and or omitted to appoint a minister of petroleum resources in spite the fact that the 1999 constitution by virtue of section 320 came into effect on May 29, 1999 thus preserving the Petroleum Act Cap 350 Laws of the Federation 1990 as an existing law under section 315 thereof.
According to the plaintiffs, the ministry of Petroleum Resources has been run by the duo of President Obasanjo and an agency known as PPPRA.
