The Federal Government has described the Executive Order Number
6, recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, as the
Administration’s most potent weapon against corruption.
Addressing a press conference in Lagos on Sunday, the Minister
of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also defended the
constitutionality of the Executive Order, saying those opposed to
it should go to court.
Executive Order No. 6 of 2018 aims to, among others, restrict
dealings in suspicious assets subject to investigation or inquiry
bordering on corruption in order to preserve such assets from
dissipation, and to deprive alleged criminals of the proceeds of
their illicit activities which can otherwise be employed to allure,
pervert and/or intimidate the investigative and judicial
processes.
”The truth is that, having realized the potency of the Order in
giving muscle to the fight against corruption – which by the way is
one of the three cardinal programmes of our Administration – the
corrupt and their cohorts have become jittery. They have every
reason to be. Henceforth, it won’t be business as usual
”For those who claim that the Executive Order Number 6 is
dictatorial, it is clear they have not even read it. Section. 3 (i)
of the Order states that any Person who alleges that his rights
have been violated, are being or are likely to be contravened by
any of the provision of this Executive Order may apply to a
competent Court in his jurisdiction for redress.” the Minister
said
He said President Buhari is the not the first
democratically-elected Nigerian President to sign Executive Orders,
adding: ”In 1980, then President Shehu Shagari issued an Executive
Order to modify the Public Order Act. This was unsuccessfully
challenged in court by then Governors of Ogun and Borno States. In
1999, then President Obasanjo issued Executive Orders to abolish
the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) and to proclaim May 29 as Democracy
Day.”
On the constitutionality of Executive Order Number 6, Alhaji
Mohammed said the President has the power, under Section 5 of the
1999 Constitution as amended – which extends to the execution and
maintenance of the Constitution, all Laws made by the National
Assembly (including but not limited to Section 15(5) of the
Constitution) – to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of
power.
He said the war against corruption is a must-win for Nigeria in
order to free national resources for the nation’s development, and
noted that the new measure became necessary to ”re-kit and re-tool”
the Administration’s arsenal to effectively tackle corruption.
The Minister said in the United States, after which Nigeria’s
presidential system of government was fashioned, Presidents,
starting from George Washington to Donal Trump, have used Executive
Orders to shape policies.
”George Washington, who was President of the US from 1789 to
1797, issued 8 Executive Orders. Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945)
issued 3,522 Executive Orders; Barack Obama (2009-2017) issued 275
in eight years; Bill Clinton (1993-2001) 364 and current President
Donald Trump 80 so far. Recently, the US Supreme Court upheld, 5-4,
President Trump’s indefinite ban on travel from several
predominantly Muslim countries, That ban was the result of an
Executive Order,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed hailed President Buhari, the African Union’s
Champion on Anti Corruption, for showing uncommon courage and
leadership by unveiling Nigeria’s most potent tool against
corruption, and appealed to Nigerians to support the
Administration’s efforts to tackle the cankerworm of
corruption.
Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed (middle); Special Assistant 1 to the President
on Information and Culture, Mr. Segun Adeyemi (right); and the
Special Assistant 2 to the President on Information and Culture,
Mr. Williams Adeleye (left), at a Press Conference on Executive
Order Six in Lagos on Sunday.
The Federal Government has described the Executive Order Number
6, recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, as the
Administration’s most potent weapon against corruption.
Addressing a press conference in Lagos on Sunday, the Minister
of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also defended the
constitutionality of the Executive Order, saying those opposed to
it should go to court.
Executive Order No. 6 of 2018 aims to, among others, restrict
dealings in suspicious assets subject to investigation or inquiry
bordering on corruption in order to preserve such assets from
dissipation, and to deprive alleged criminals of the proceeds of
their illicit activities which can otherwise be employed to allure,
pervert and/or intimidate the investigative and judicial
processes.
”The truth is that, having realized the potency of the Order in
giving muscle to the fight against corruption – which by the way is
one of the three cardinal programmes of our Administration – the
corrupt and their cohorts have become jittery. They have every
reason to be. Henceforth, it won’t be business as usual
”For those who claim that the Executive Order Number 6 is
dictatorial, it is clear they have not even read it. Section. 3 (i)
of the Order states that any Person who alleges that his rights
have been violated, are being or are likely to be contravened by
any of the provision of this Executive Order may apply to a
competent Court in his jurisdiction for redress.” the Minister
said
He said President Buhari is the not the first
democratically-elected Nigerian President to sign Executive Orders,
adding: ”In 1980, then President Shehu Shagari issued an Executive
Order to modify the Public Order Act. This was unsuccessfully
challenged in court by then Governors of Ogun and Borno States. In
1999, then President Obasanjo issued Executive Orders to abolish
the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) and to proclaim May 29 as Democracy
Day.”
On the constitutionality of Executive Order Number 6, Alhaji
Mohammed said the President has the power, under Section 5 of the
1999 Constitution as amended – which extends to the execution and
maintenance of the Constitution, all Laws made by the National
Assembly (including but not limited to Section 15(5) of the
Constitution) – to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of
power.
He said the war against corruption is a must-win for Nigeria in
order to free national resources for the nation’s development, and
noted that the new measure became necessary to ”re-kit and re-tool”
the Administration’s arsenal to effectively tackle corruption.
The Minister said in the United States, after which Nigeria’s
presidential system of government was fashioned, Presidents,
starting from George Washington to Donal Trump, have used Executive
Orders to shape policies.
”George Washington, who was President of the US from 1789 to
1797, issued 8 Executive Orders. Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945)
issued 3,522 Executive Orders; Barack Obama (2009-2017) issued 275
in eight years; Bill Clinton (1993-2001) 364 and current President
Donald Trump 80 so far. Recently, the US Supreme Court upheld, 5-4,
President Trump’s indefinite ban on travel from several
predominantly Muslim countries, That ban was the result of an
Executive Order,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed hailed President Buhari, the African Union’s
Champion on Anti Corruption, for showing uncommon courage and
leadership by unveiling Nigeria’s most potent tool against
corruption, and appealed to Nigerians to support the
Administration’s efforts to tackle the cankerworm of
corruption.
Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed (middle); Special Assistant 1 to the President
on Information and Culture, Mr. Segun Adeyemi (right); and the
Special Assistant 2 to the President on Information and Culture,
Mr. Williams Adeleye (left), at a Press Conference on Executive
Order Six in Lagos on Sunday.
Read more https://apc.com.ng/fg-calls-executive-order-6-most-potent-weapon-against-corruption/