Resign, Public Funds Not For Promotion Of Candidate, CSOs Tell Keyamo

Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria have asked the minister of labour and productivity, Festus Keyamo to resign, stating that he can’t be using public funds to promote a presidential candidate.

Nigeria’s electoral laws forbid politicians from using public funds or resources at the detriment of their political opponents in the electoral process.

Also, Section 84 (12) states that political appointees and other public servants aiming for elective positions are to resign.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has announced Keyamo as spokesman of his campaign team, an office he has since assumed.

But the CSOs said the action of Keyamo, a serving minister who goes about promoting Tinubu without resignation, runs foul of the laws and the needed transparency from public officials.

The CSOs who spoke to LEADERSHIP Sunday include; Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Transparency International (TI) and Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).

Their leader, Awwal Musa Rafsanjani, said; “As a minister, he can’t be using public funds and office to be doing a job of promoting, campaigning for a presidential candidate or his party.

“If he wants to do that he should resign. That is the only way Nigerians can know that public funds are not being used for a particular candidate’s advantage.”

According to the CSOs, they had at different times asked sitting ministers using state resources and time for their political campaign to resign.

“That also applies to Festus Keyamo who is a sitting minister and campaigning, spending time and resources for a particular candidate. Therefore, the Transition Monitoring Group and other CSOs note that as a lawyer and respected Nigerian he should resign and focus on his new job, “ Rafsanjani added.