There
are indications that President Goodluck Jonathan had directed the
Bamanga Tukur faction of the Peoples Democratic Party to compile names
of its members for minsiterial positions.
A member of the National Working Committee of the faction, who made this known to The PUNCH in Abuja on Sunday, said the directive was already being complied with.
Jonathan, in his first major cabinet shake-up since his inauguration on May 29, 2011, had on Wednesday sacked nine ministers.
The sacked ministers were Prof.
Ruqayyatu Rufai (Education), Okon Ewa-Bassey (Science and
Technology), Olugbenga Ashiru (Foreign Affairs), Hadiza Mailafia
(Environment), Shamsudeen Usman (National Planning),and Ama Pepple
(Housing, Lands and Urban Development).
Also affected were Olusola
Obada(Defence), and her counterparts in the Agriculture Ministry,
Alhaji Bukar Tijani, and Power, Zainab Kuchi.
The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran
Maku, had explained that the sacking of the ministers had no political
undertone but there were reports that it was fallout of the crisis in
the PDP.
The PDP was factionalised on August 31 when seven of its governors formed a faction, known as New PDP.
The NWC member, who pleaded anonymity,
said, “The President has directed the party to suggest names for the
vacant ministerial slots. We have already asked our state chapters to
send their nominees to us. As I talk to you, we are waiting for their
nominees.”
It was gathered that in states governed
by the seven governors in the New PDP, politicians loyal to the
President, would nominate candidates for vacant slots.
In Rivers State, where Pepple lost her
job, party chieftains, including the Deputy National Chairman of the
Tuku-led faction, Uche Secondus and the Minister of State for
Education, Nyesom Wike, would play a role in getting her replacement.
In the South-West, there are two vacancies because of the removal of Ashiru and Obada.
It was gathered that chieftains of the
PDP, Chief Olabode George and a financier of the party, Chief Buruji
Kasamu, were expected to nominate candidates for the zone.
In Kaduna State, the southern part of the state would fill the vacancy created by the sack of Mailafia.
In Niger State, it was learnt that a
former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and an ex-Minister of
Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, might nominate an indigene of the state
to replace Kuchi.
It was also gathered that, to fill the
vacant ministerial slots, governors that were loyal to the President had
been directed to nominate candidates, if there were vacancies in their
states.
The PUNCH learnt that the Akwa
Ibom State Governor, Obong Godswill Akpabio, would nominate a chieftain
of the party in the state to replace Ewa-Bassey, a native of the state.
When asked to comment on the
development, the PDP National Publicity Secreary, Chief Olish Metuh,
said, “That is not important. It is the President that will choose
whoever he wants to work with him to achieve his transformation agenda.”
The Special Adviser to the President on
National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, had on Friday said
Jonathan was still consulting on the appointment of new ministers.
She had said, “He is still consulting.
He will present the list to the National Assembly as soon as he
concludes his consultations.”
Meanwhile, investigations on Sunday revealed that security reports were mostly responsible for the sack of the ministers.
A Presidency source told one of our
correspondents that following the crisis in the PDP, the Presidency
could no longer trust the affected ministers.
The source said, “The ministers were
nailed by security reports. Their telephone lines were bugged and they
were being monitored for at least four months. It was discovered that
they were no longer sincere with Mr. President, especially since the
internal crises in PDP erupted.
“Go and find out, no sincere government
or President will tolerate a minister whose loyalty is in doubt. In the
case of the affected ministers, they were having divided loyalties.
First, to their state governors or the godfathers who nominated them and
secondly to Mr. President.
“But by their functions, their loyalty
to the President should be total and so the best option is to shop for
people with committed loyalty and not divided loyalty. This should be a
serious lesson to any public servant; divided loyalty is never
tolerated anywhere in the world.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the
President’s Special Adviser on Political Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Gulak,
prooved abortive as he could not be reached through his mobile
telephone.
A civil rights organisation, the Anti-Corruption Network, has, however, described the sacking of the ministers as vindictive.
The Executive Secretary of the group and
former member of the House of Representatives, Dino Melaye, in an
interview with one of our correspondents, linked the sacking to the
crisis in the PDP.
He said, “The sacking of the ministers
is vindictive, petty and political. It shows that President Jonathan,
like I have always said, condones, romances and promotes corruption. He
spared all the corrupt thieves in his government, including those who
are still busy enjoying their loots.
“The sacking of these ministers is a
cowardly reaction. The former Minister of Education was a nominee of
the Jigawa State Governor. The ex-minister of National Planning is
from Kano State and it is because Jonathan wants to appoint a strong
politician who will fight Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso in Kano State.”
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How I wish that this criminally intelligent set of kleptomania will learn to govern in a more justifiable way. Why must your party compile names?.....Definitely, every Tom, Dick and Harry going for these positions will either be PDP members or loyalist. For how long will these madness and selfishness persist?
ReplyDeleteThe most annoying thing is that all these 40+/ 50+ years old who have in one way or the other held "some" political positions will be the nominees again when we have able bodied competent young Nigerians littering around with "well-meaning" credentials and potentials. We are proclaiming tomorrow leadership; young Nigerians! How will we be tomorrow leaders if today leaders are glued to all available political seats.I cry... When I rememba Niger-area (Nigeria) water runawei me eyes....aheeey aheey water runaway me eyes....!!!
When I rememba jonathan water runawei me eyes....aheeey aheey water runaway me eyes....!!!
That is a good development. Thumbs up for U GEJ. U r not doing badly.
ReplyDeleteEnough signs for incompetence!
ReplyDelete