June 16, (THEWILL) – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Thursday appointed eight Special Advisers to complement his work as the President and Commander – in – Chief of the Armed Forces.
He had earlier got approval of the Senate for 20 Special Advisers slots. So with the appointments made Thursday, he had filled eight of the slots and 12 vacant slots still exist.
Among those appointed special advisers is the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, as the Special Adviser on Security.
Since the announcement of the appointment of Ribadu, many legal practitioners, public commentators and political analysts have expressed surprise at the title of the ‘Special Adviser on Security’ position as announced by the president.
Before now, successive presidents have been having National Security Advisers which, by the constitutional stipulation, is a member of the National Security Council.
While many believe that President Tinubu, with Ribadu’s appointment, is trying to create another position to replace the office of the National Security Adviser, (NSA), or that he is substituting the title of Special Adviser for the National Security Adviser, many felt that, it is not possible for the president to substitute the office of the NSA for SA.
Looking at the 1999 Constitution, it is clear that the office of the NSA is a constitutional position that cannot be discarded or changed unless the constitution is amended by the National Assembly.
“The 1999 Constitution created the office of the NSA and no other title can replace that office unless there is a constitution amendment to carry out such replacement”, a senior legal practitioner informed THEWILL.
The 1999 constitution Schedule 3 Parts 1 K, Section 25 talks about the composition of the National Security Council and it said it shall comprise of the following members: (a) the President who shall be the Chairman; (b) the Vice-President who shall be the Deputy Chairman;
(c) the Chief of Defence Staff; (d) the Minister of the Government of the Federation charged with the responsibility for internal affairs; (e) the Minister of the Government of the Federation charged responsibility for defence; (f) the Minister of the Government of the Federation charged with the responsibility for foreign affairs; (g) the National Security Adviser; (h) the Inspector-General of Police; and (i) such other persons as the President may in his discretion appoint.
From this constitution provision, the position of the NSA cannot be substituted with the position of Special Adviser. And so Ribadu can only function as an aide of the president on security matters.
He can only be in the National Security Council through section ( i) (such other person as the President may in his discretion appoint) .
But still, there will be the need for the president to fill the position of the NSA who has a constitutional slot in the National Security Council.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
