The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke has been sued after he appointed himself as the Commissioner for Works.
News About Nigeria confirmed that the Osun State Chapter of the All Progressive Congress, APC took action at the State High Court in Osogbo, the State capital.
The Governor had on July 19, announced his appointment and that of his deputy.
His deputy, Kola Adewusi was also appointed as the Commissioner for Sports and Special Needs. He was also sued by the party, APC.
In opposition to the appointments, the ruling party, through its lawyer, Sherif Oluyombo, urged the court to determine whether a sitting governor can hold any other executive office.
Referencing Section 192(2) and (5) of the Nigerian constitution, the plaintiff prayed the court to determine whether “a person can be validly appointed a commissioner of the government of a state if his nomination is not forwarded to and received by the State’s House of Assembly for purposes of confirmation.”
This, however, is not the first time that elected officials have held dual roles, as the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015, appointed himself as the Minister of Petroleum. The ex-president had also appointed Ibe Kachikwu as the minister of state for petroleum and later Timipre Sylva in his second term without objection from his party members.
The decision of the case may potentially bar President Tinubu from acting as a minister if the court rules that elected politicians cannot have dual posts.
This comes after Ademola Adeleke authorized the appointment of 14 new Special Advisers to handle diverse sectors in the state on Wednesday.
This was revealed in an Osogbo statement by the Governor’s spokesman, Olawale Rasheed.
