Sack of A Minister
IN a rare case of presidential umbrage, President Goodluck Jonathan suspended Minister of Interior, Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho, earlier in the month. Many thought it had something to do with the riots all over the country.
A terse statement on the sack merely generated more curiosity. “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has ordered the immediate suspension of Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho as Minister of Interior and member of the Federal Executive Council,” statement said. “Capt. Iheanacho has been directed to hand over to the Minister of Labour, Mr. Emeka Wogu, who will, in addition to his present portfolio, oversee that ministry.
“Capt. Iheanacho’s suspension comes as a result of a number of lapses in the political leadership of the ministry traceable to his personal and official conduct. For now, his continued manning of the ministry is not in the interest of the nation.”
The last part of the statement created the impression that Iheanacho acted in a manner that compromised national interests, whatever those interests may be. No details were given and weeks after, it seems that the President has gone on to other matters.
What did Iheanacho do? Why did the President think it was unimportant for Nigerians to know the minister’s offence? The secrecy is unwarranted. In these days of transparency, the President should have been more open in the Iheanacho affair.
Allegations of lapses in the political leadership of the Ministry of Interior under Iheanacho are too weighty to be treated with scant interest, especially as the statement said the lapses were “traceable to his personal and official conduct.”
Ministers serve at the pleasure of the President, meaning he can sack them as he pleases. However, ministers serve the public. Once appointed, they are in the public eye. Their actions affect us not just the President.
It is therefore not enough for the President to suspend a minister with weighty allegations clothed in mystery.
Another account of the suspension was that Iheanacho, a retired naval officer, a shipping and oil magnate, was a victim of the politics in his native Imo. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lost a senatorial seat to the opposing All Peoples Grand Alliance, APGA.
Iheanacho reportedly supported candidates of the opposing parties. The National Vice Chairman (South East) of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, had asked the President to sack Iheanacho for anti-party activities. Metuh celebrated the suspension as a warning to others who toyed with the supremacy of the party.
In the wake of the series of violence across the country, some have tried linking Iheanacho’s removal to the unrests. How tenable is this position? The Ministry of Interior has the following agencies – Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Prisons Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Department of National Civic Registration.
What should they have done about the security situation?
The President should disclose Iheanacho’s offence because we are wondering whether suspension is adequate punishment for someone whose “continued manning of the ministry is not in the interest of the nation.”
