Review your stand on ministers access to you, IPAC Chairman urges Buhari

The National Chairman of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Peter Ameh, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to review his charge restricting ministers’ access to him as he said it leaves room for abuse even though it should have been the standard practice.

He also enjoined the newly appointed ministers who were assigned their portfolio on Tuesday to leave a legacy of good report that will surpass them as against only going to occupy office as representatives of their state in the cabinet.

Ameh said this in an interview with Tribune Online, urging the ministers to respond to the yearnings of Nigerians whose mandate brought the President to the office and has been extended to them.

“It has been long since Lateef Jakande left office as governor of Lagos but his legacy remains on the lips of many Nigerians till date because he left a legacy that has not been surpassed,” Ameh stated.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to review his charge restricting ministers’ access to him because the way he has said it leaves room for abuse even though it should have been the standard practice.

According to Ameh, Nigerians are full of expectation from the ministers creating such limitation of access may be counter-productive where any or some of the ministers are perceived to be in the black book of the chief of Staff or the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

He said the need to review that position owes to the fact that there may be instances of emergencies that would require Presidential urgent attention.

“These are normal administrative protocol but for the President to say that its now the authoritative channel gives one a sense of concern especially as delegating such power to a subordinate if not properly checked, maybe abused.

“The President should have allowed a caveat in that authority he is creating in the case of urgent national emergency for which the ministers may want to see the President for his clear orders and directive.

“Besides the President other Nigerians do not know these people, the person Nigerians voted is Muhammadu Buhari, so if anything goes wrong, it is Muhammadu Buhari as it is the minister who have been assigned portfolio will leave in some kind of uncertainty in fear of the Chief of staff that where they refuse certain requests from the chief of staff, it may boomerang against them” Ameh Stated