If President Muhammadu Buhari appends his assent to the Transition and Assumption Bill 2020 passed by House of Representatives on Tuesday, those who will occupy the position might be impeached if they fail to select their cabinet members within 30 days of taking over power.
The bill seeks to provide the procedure and ceremony for transition and assumption of the office of the president, and vice-president-elect by the president-elect and vice-president-elect, and to facilitate the handover process by the outgoing president and vice-president of the federal republic of Nigeria, according to its sponsor Kpam Sokpo, a lawmaker who represents Buruku Federal Constituency of Benue state, who spoke during plenary.
Section 19(1) of the bill stipulates that “the president shall on assumption of office, appoint ministers within 30 days from the date he took the oath of office.”
In section 19(2) of the bill, “the president shall constitute and appoint all boards of government agencies and parastatal that are due for constitution and appointment within two months from the date of his assumption of office.”
Also in section 19(3), the president “shall be guilty of a misconduct as provided under section 143 (2) (b) of the Constitution” if he fails to comply with the provisions of the proposed bill. It also outlined how the president can be impeached when he is guilty of “gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office.”
Mr Buhari himself had in 2015 delayed the formation of his cabinet members. He spent about 180 days searching for those he latter appointed.
