Intrigues As Nation Awaits Tinubu’s Ministers

Intrigues As Nation Awaits Tinubu’s Ministers

By Nnamdi Ojiego and Dickson Omobola

After the inauguration of the National Assembly last Tuesday, Nigerians are eagerly awaiting the composition of the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu to accelerate the process of governance.

But the intriguing aspect of the episode is that some of those rumoured to be on Tinubu’s ministerial list were last week appointed by the President as his Special Advisers.

On Thursday, the President released a list of eight Special Advisers.

He had previously secured the approval of 12 Special Advisers from the Senate.

The appointment of the Special Advisers, who are also part of the federal cabinet, is the tip of the iceberg as ministers are senior members of the cabinet and are ranked higher in the hierarchy by virtue of the control they have over Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government.

By law, Tinubu must name his cabinet within 60 days after taking the oath of office on May 29 and transmit it to the Senate for confirmation.

Immediate past President Muhammed Buhari had, in March 2023, signed 16 constitutional bills into law including the one requiring the President to form his cabinet not later than two months of assuming office.

It took Buhari himself six months after taking office for his first term in 2015 to name his ministers and many analysts believed this had a negative effect on governance at that early stage of the administration.

With the Senate inaugurated on Tuesday, analysts said the stage had been set for Tinubu to send his ministerial list to the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly for confirmation, saying that should be done without delay to signal that the President is ready for the huge task of making the difference in the lives of Nigerians who had been impoverished under the last administration.

Multiple sources close to the seat of power at Aso Rock Presidential Villa told Sunday Vanguard at the weekend that it was not impossible that the ministerial list was ready to be sent to the Senate for confirmation but added that July may have been fixed as the deadline to compose the cabinet.

Lobbyists for ministerial appointments, according to one of the sources, had set to work immediately after Tinubu emerged in the February 25, 2023 election while many names including those of politicians and technocrats have surfaced in the media as potential nominees.

Among those who have been touted as potential nominees are former Governors Muhammad Badaru (Jigawa), Atiku Badaru (Kebbi), Raji Fashola (Lagos), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) and Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna).

Others include former ministers like Festus Keyamo, Isa Pantami and Femi Fani-Kayode.

Kachifu Inuwa, Tanimu Yakubu, Hadiza Bala Usman, Hanatu Musawa, Betty Edu and Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole also find space in the rumoured ministerial list.

Significantly, the Constitution provides for one minister per state, meaning there is room for 36 ministers (minister and minister of state).

There have been a suggestion in some quarters that the cabinet should reflect a government of national unity, that is, the opposition parties should have inputs.

But the suggestion was swiftly rejected by the Tinubu Campaign at that time.

What is certain is that All Progressives Congress (APC) governors will have inputs on those who emerge as nominees in their states while in non-APC states, failed governorship candidates in the 2023 polls and party leaders may decide who gets their ministerial slots.

In fact Sunday Vanguard learnt, at the weekend, that APC governors may have been asked to submit three names from each state from which the President would have the prerogative to pick one as minister.

Meanwhile, one intriguing aspect of the reported ministerial nominations is that Tinubu named some of the alleged potential nominees as Special Advisers last Thursday.

They include Mr Dele Alake who was appointed as Special Adviser, Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, and Mr Wale Edun, Special Adviser, Monetary Policies.

Previously both of them had been touted as potential ministerial nominees with Alake allegedly heading to the Information Ministry and Edun to Finance Ministry.

A source said one of the Special Advisers may have actually not wanted the position because he was eyeing a ministerial portfolio and had to be vigorously persuaded to accept the appointment.

According to the source, the ministerial list is a closely guarded secret by the President and only a few people in the inner circle of Tinubu have access to it.

“So if anyone is telling you that he is privy to the list at this point in time he is lying,” the source said.

‘Strangers’

Findings across the states, at the weekend, revealed that there is anxiety over the likely choice of ministers as APC members want only those they described as genuine party members appointed. The mood is that anything short of people in that category may not augur well for APC.

ONDO: ‘ We have been unlucky’

In Ondo State, the absence of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who is presently on medical vacation abroad, has made the entire processes seem shrouded in secrecy by the governor’s inner circle members, especially his kinsmen from Owo.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that Tinubu requested three names to be recommended by each governor from their respective states for ministerial position.

Individuals who seem to be close to the President or who know people who are very close to the corridors of power like Ambassador Olusola Iji, APC National Vice Chairman, South West; Hon Isaac Kekemeke, the Director, Humanitarian and Social Directorate of APC, South West in the February election; Chief Alex Ajipe; a former Minister of State for Transportation, Demola Adegoroye; and a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Victor Olabimtan, are said to be lobbying to get the Ondo ministerial slot.

Speaking on the matter, the Director, Media & Publicity of the party in the state, Steve Otaloro, said:”Ab initio Ondo State has not been so lucky with the junior ministerial positions allotted to it.

“ The people who benefited also do not work assiduously in the overall interest of the state except the immediate past Minister of Transport.

“Previous ministers from the state were disconnected from the party. They do not have the interest of our members and that of the state at heart.

“ We want to change that narrative with the appointment of a member that is well-connected to the aspiration of our party members and has the interest of the state at heart.”

OSUN: Associates push for Oyetola

Feelers from the party in Osun State is that the slot is for the immediate past Governor Gboyega Oyetola who, it was gathered, is not lobbying for it.

His loyalists were said to have insisted he gets it to keep the party alive. The group considered Oyetola’s closeness to the President an advantage.

But a chieftain of the party, who pleaded anonymity, said the choice of the state ministerial slot would be determined by the leadership in conjunction with the Elders Caucus led by Chief Bisi Akande.

It was gathered that some of the party chiefs in contention apart from Oyetola are a former Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole; immediate past Senate spokesperson, Dr Ajibola Basiru; Fani-Kayode and a former Commissioner for Finance in the state, Bola Oyebamiji.

However, APC Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Olabisi, said the party is united on the choice of who will be minister, saying it is not an issue that would divide APC in Osun.

EKITI: New kid on the block

Those believed to be engaged in a subtle race for a ministerial slot in Ekiti State include Fayemi; a former Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Chief Niyi Adebayo; National Coordinator of South-West Agenda for Tinubu 2023, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, and the Coordinator of the Tinubu/ Shettima Independent Campaign Council in Ekiti, Prince Akintade Olayisade.

Sunday Vanguard, however, gathered that the top contenders for the Ekiti ministerial slot are Fayemi, Adeyeye and the new kid on the block with extensive connections in Aso Rock, Makinde Araoye.

Commenting on the issue, the Deputy Chairman of APC in Ekiti State, Mr Sola Eleshin, said:” The party has an interest in anything beneficial, just like we specified what we wanted during the National Assembly elections. On the ministerial slot, it goes the same way. We are interested in getting the best for Ekiti. Nobody has been coming here to pressure us. If they want to do so, they should go to Abuja.”

OYO: Makinde’s men want reward

In Oyo State, sources told Sunday Vanguard that Tinubu may have granted Governor Seyi Makinde the opportunity to present his preferred candidates following the role the G-5 Governors to which he belonged played in his emergence.

The ruling party in the state , Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and APC, it was learnt, are presenting candidates for final submission to Mr. President.

However, the opposition APC was said to have met stiff opposition from the governor’s camp.

Party faithful felt that having worked hard for Makinde’s re-election, they should be the major beneficiaries.

“Party officials are strong in their position that they couldn’t have worked for others to reap the fruit of their labour,” a source said.

Reacting, the APC’s spokesperson in the state, Mr. Olawale Sadare, said: “President Bola Tinubu is a leader in the true sense of the word.

“We are very optimistic he would go for core party faithful as his choice for key appointments including the ministerial.”

OGUN: Bankole, Amosun, Gbenga Daniel struggle

It’s still not clear who Governor Dapo Abiodun would eventually nominate from Ogun State.

Party chieftains like former Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who stepped down for Tinubu at the party primary, and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, are among those said to be interested in ministerial positions.

Also, the camp of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, who fell out with Abiodun during the governorship election, is not left out in the power play for the slot.

Sources said that the state ministerial slot may go to Amosun or anyone in the camp of Gbenga Daniel given his election as senator representing Ogun East.

Speaking, Publicity Secretary of APC in Ogun State, Tunde Oladunjoye, said the matter is a party affair.

Oladunjoye noted that all laid down rules and regulations, in accordance with the Constitution of the country, would be followed when constituting the cabinet.

“It’s a party affair. We are law-abiding. Let’s leave it like that for now. There is a saying that ‘don’t go to town announcing that your wife is pregnant, wait until the delivery time,’” he added.

ANAMBRA: Only genuine party members in contention

Anambra State Chapter of APC is lobbying for only genuine members of the party to be considered for ministerial and other appointments from the state.

The state Publicity Secretary of APC, Dr. Valentine Oliobi, said Anambra would not like to experience what happened during the administration of Buhari when people from the state who occupied ministerial positions did not identify with the party.

He argued that picking ministers among those who support the party would serve as an encouragement to members who use their resources to ensure that the party remains afloat.

“APC in the state knows those who are true members in Anambra and would wish that such people should be appointed ministers,” Oliobi said.

Among those being mentioned as likely candidates for appointment include Elijah Onyeagba who is the Nigerian Ambassador to Burundi, Jerry Ugokwe, a former member of House of Representatives, Chief Johnbosco Onunkwo, who was a governorship aspirant, and Uzuegbunam Okagbue, a former chief protocol officer to ex-Governor Willie Obiano.

ENUGU: The odds favour Onoh

Those being touted in Enugu State include former Tinubu’s spokesman in the South-East, Dr Josef Onoh, ex-Chairman of APC in the state, Dr Ben Nwoye, 2023 governorship candidate in the state, Chief Uche Nnaji, and a former governor of the state, Sullivan Chime.

Some other APC stakeholders in the state who would have made the list of possible nominees include Senator Ken Nnamani; and a former Speaker of the state Assembly, Eugene Odoh but their revolt against the leadership of the party in Enugu made them to even stay away from campaigning for Tinubu in the state.

For now, the odds seem to favour Onoh who has been vociferous in the defense of Tinubu in the South-East.

Factors

In a related development, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, and activists have told Tinubu to adopt fair-mindedness when constituting his cabinet.

They also demanded that the President must be conscious of the caliber of persons who would make up his cabinet, saying the Federal Executive Council, FEC, cannot serve as a dumping ground for individuals who have failed to clinch their favourite political offices.

In separate chats with Sunday Vanguard, the groups and activists said Nigeria was in a critical condition due to the poor quality of those who had administered it, adding that the guiding principles in formulating his cabinet should include good character, competence and experience.

Ozekhome: No to ‘Baba Go-slow’

Constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome, believed Tinubu should hit the ground running by forming his cabinet immediately if he hoped to make any positive impact in the lives of Nigerians.

He said: “Tinubu was elected in February and declared the winner on March 1. He should have hit the ground running, forming his cabinet ahead of his inauguration. This is how it is done in America from which we borrowed our presidentialism. If he hopes to make any impact at all, he should do it as fast as yesterday; not like Buhari, who even laughed at his ‘baba go-slow’ approach to the non-constitution of a cabinet for about 6 months after his inauguration.

“The President is taking too long to constitute his cabinet. Nigeria is in shambles, more divided now than ever before, with citizens dying of hunger, disease, and squalor, and some committing suicide, homicide, and infanticide out of frustration and deep-seated anger.

“Therefore, the President should appoint technocrats who very well know the job and the weighty issues at stake in Nigeria today. Surely not spent, recycled, and old tired horses of politicians and political harlots. These were the type Buhari latched on to and failed disastrously and abysmally.”

Frank Cis | June 18, 2023.

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