Lagos PDP Faults ACN; Over Comments On George’s NPC Appointment

The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, has berated the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, over its call on President Goodluck Jonathan not to swear in Mrs. Roli George as a member of the National Population Commission, NPC, describing the call as unpatriotic and laughable.

The ACN had through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, asked President Jonathan not to swear in Mrs. George because she is not a Lagosian and cannot represent the interest of the state.

The PDP, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Barrister Taofik Gani and made available to Political Platform, said that it was surprised that such comments could be attributed to Mohammed who as a lawyer should know the provisions of the constitution.

“For the sake of clarity, the 3rd Schedule, Part 1, Item J, Paragraph 23 (B) of the 1999 Constitution as amended states clearly that one person shall represent each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on the NPC Board.

“This is definitely not the same as Section 147 (3) of the same Constitution which states unequivocally that: the President shall appoint at least one minister from each state who shall be an indigene of such state. This is the only section of the constitution where the issue of indigeneship is so expressly attached to appointment,” he averred.

“Like Roli, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who is now representing Lagos Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly is not a Lagosian either by birth, upbringing or marriage,” the PDP said.