A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit seeking to reverse the appointment of Hannatu Musawa as minister of art, culture and creative economy.
Justice James Omotosho said the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi (legal right) to institute the suit.
Justice Omotosho also held that even if the plaintiffs were vested with legal right to file the matter, the suit itself lacked merit.
Musawa, a lawyer and former presidential adviser on culture and entertainment economy, was screened by the Senate on August 1, 2023, and was sworn in as minister on August 21, 2023.
At the time the minister, who hails from Katsina State, was appointed, she was said to be undergoing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.
Against this backdrop, the Incorporated Trustees of Concerned Nigeria, Patrick Eholor and Thomas Marcus, the first to third plaintiffs respectively, filed the suit before Justice Omotosho.
In the suit filed on August 30, 2023, the plaintiffs sued President Bola Tinubu, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and Musawa as first to third defendants respectively.
They prayed the court to determine whether by provisions of Section 2(1) and (3) of the NYSC Act and Section 4(9) of the NYSC Bye-Laws (Revised 2011), Musawa, who was a corps member at the time, was not prohibited from becoming a federal minister.
They also urged the court to determine “whether by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), whether the same qualification of a member of House of Representatives is not also the same qualification for the appointment 3rd defendant (Musawa) as a minister and whether same qualification is not mandatory for her to be a federal minister of Nigeria.”
The plaintiffs sought among others an order nullifying the initial recommendation, resolution to be a minister, appointment and swearing-in of Musawa as a minister.
But the first and second defendants, in a joint preliminary objection dated and filed February 15, sought a dismissal of the suit for want of jurisdiction.
They argued that her appointment was done in line with extant laws as she was duly nominated, screened by the Senate and appointed by the president.
According to them, there is no law that hinders the first defendant from appointing a person still serving as an NYSC member as a minister.
They further argued that the only qualification is same as a person contesting for the post of a member of the House of Representatives.
They submitted that the NYSC certificate or completion of NYSC is not among the basic requirements for appointment as a minister, urging the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that the plaintiffs are incompetent to institute this suit.
On her part, Musawa, through her lawyer, argued that the first plaintiff was a non-existent entity and thus, not a juristic person to institute the action.
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Also, she argued that none of the plaintiffs had shown how they had suffered special injury to the exclusion of all Nigerians to qualify them to maintain the suit.
In the judgment delivered on Tuesday by Justice Omotosho and the certified true copy of it made available to the news media on Thursday, the judge agreed that for a person to be qualified for appointment as a minister, he must fulfill the conditions in Section 147 (5) of the 1999 Constitution.
According to him, Section 147 (5) says 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.
“It is clear from the above that the qualification for being a member of the House of Representatives will guide the qualification for being a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
The judge said that based on Section 65, and subject to Section 66, a person shall be qualified for election as a member of House of Representatives if he is a citizen of Nigeria and has attained the age of 30 years.
He said it equally provided that a person shall be qualified for election under Subsection (1) of this section if he has been educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent; and he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that party.
“The constitution has made it crystal clear the qualifications and grounds for disqualification as a minister and being a serving corp member is not one of such ground.
“As a matter of fact, a person to be appointed as a minister only needs to show that he has been educated up to secondary school level.
“Thus the National Youth Service Corps Certificate which can only be attained by graduates who have completed the scheme is a surplusage to the basic requirements to be a minister.
“I therefore hold that there is nothing stopping the 1st defendant (Tinubu) from appointing the 3rd defendant (Musawa) as a minister as she is eminently qualified to be so appointed.
“In final analysis, the plaintiffs lack locus standi to institute this action.
“Even where they are vested with locus standi, the suit lacks merit — same is hereby dismissed,” Justice Omotosho declared.
