Even though the President may delegate official functions to certain group of people, "Chief of Staff" does not have the legal validity to act for and on behalf of the President for official purposes. By virtue of Sections 148(1) of the constitution, the President may delegate his executive functions to his Vice President, ministers but never on the "Chief of Staff".
Controversies have greeted the death of Abba Kyari, former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari. The Federal Government has issued a statement over his death. However, the government, while throwing every caution into the air, is excessively violating its own orders over the Abba Kyari saga.
First, the lockdown and movement restriction order which was announced by the President has been flagrantly violated by transporting Kyari from Lagos to Abuja. Furthermore, the position of the government not to release the dead bodies of people who die as a result of the pandemic in order to curtail further spread has now been flouted with the release and burial of Abba Kyari in Abuja.
Most unfortunately and disappointingly, the social distancing order which has been the chorus anthem of the Buhari administration has been violated in the most hypocritical manner by the mass gathering of people at the burial of Abba Kyari today.
By way of digression, I hereby call on the Federal Government to arrest and prosecute all those who attended the burial ceremony of Abba Kyari today in the same manner in which other Nigerians who flouted the lockdown order of the government have been arraigned and prosecuted.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, I hereby call on the Nigerian President to scrap the office of the "Chief of Staff" forthwith and to desist from appointing anybody to that office henceforth because the office is not a creation of the Nigerian constitution or any known enactment whatsoever.
The office of the "Chief of Staff" was first created in 1999 by erstwhile President, Olusegun Obasanjo. The pattern of creating the office is similar to what obtains in the United States, however, there was no reliance on any known law in creating the office.
Section 171 of the constitution empowers the President to make appointments into certain offices that are created by law. Section 171 of the constitution provides thus:
"171. (1) Power to appoint persons to hold or act in the offices to which this section applies and to remove persons so appointed from any such office shall vest in the President.
(2) The offices to which this section applies are, namely -
(a) Secretary to the Government of the Federation;
(b) Head of the Civil Service of the Federation;
(c) Ambassador, High Commissioner or other Principal Representative of Nigeria abroad;
(d) Permanent Secretary in any Ministry or Head of any Extra-Ministerial Department of the Government of the Federation"
Howsoever designated; and
(e) Any office on the personal staff of the President."
Although, Section 171(2)(e) provides an opportunity for the President to appoint 'personal staff', the office of "Chief of Staff" cannot be seen as more than a personal staff to the President.
Personal staff as envisaged under Section 171(2)(e) of the constitution cannot be more than personal assistant, like personal cook, personal driver etc. However, official functions of the President can never and must never to delegated or rested upon personal assistant.
The manner in which the office of "Chief of Staff" runs and is an offensive manipulation of the provisions of the constitution. For example, at the inauguration of ministers last year, President Buhari directed his cabinet to report to him through his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
Even though the President may delegate official functions to certain group of people, "Chief of Staff" does not have the legal validity to act for and on behalf of the President for official purposes. By virtue of Sections 148(1) of the constitution, the President may delegate his executive functions to his Vice President, ministers but never on the "Chief of Staff".
Against the foregoing, I hereby call on President Buhari to scrap the office of Chief of Staff and if again he proceeds to appoint another person to that office, I shall challenge the appointment in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Tope Akinyode is a human rights lawyer and National President of Revolutionary Lawyer's Forum