The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo has defended his claim that the appointment of Ministers of State is an aberration and unconstitutional.
Recall that Keyamo had said on Wednesday at the valedictory session to mark the last Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the State House in Abuja, that the appointment of the ministers of state is illegal.
According to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, most of his colleagues were redundant in the last eight years, adding that other ministers of state have not had the courage to speak up.
Keyamo asserted that it was difficult to assess the individual performances of the ministers of state since their discretion was shackled under the senior ministers.
He decried that original ideas developed by a minister of state are usually subjected to clearance by another colleague in Cabinet before they can sail through for consideration by Council.
Following his remarks, Nigerians took to the micro-blogging platform, Twitter to accuse Keyamo of being a hypocrite and collecting allowances and salaries from the same office.
However, they stated that the minister is an accomplice to the illegality, hence he should refund all salaries and emoluments received throughout his tenure.
Reacting to the criticisms in a tweet via his verified Twitter handle on Friday night, Keyamo said his critics are struggling with the difference between ‘appointment’ and ‘designation’.
He wrote: “Sipping a cup of tea yesterday at the Council Chambers after the valedictory FEC meeting. For those who have been struggling with the difference between ‘appointment’ and ‘designation’ (including my dear wannabe ‘outspoken journalists’) should I return the tea too? 😁😁😁”
Sipping a cup of tea yesterday at the Council Chambers after the valedictory FEC meeting. For those who have been struggling with the difference between ‘appointment’ and ‘designation’ (including my dear wannabe ‘outspoken journalists’) should I return the tea too? 😁😁😁 pic.twitter.com/2yba4FcNpT
— Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) May 25, 2023
