At last, President Muhammadu
Buhari has sent the list of his cabinet members to the senate for confirmation.
The list, which comes two months into his second term, has 43 names, including
members of his former cabinet. Below are key highlights from the list.
WHO BECOMES MINISTER OF FINANCE?
Although Zainab Ahmed, the former
minister of finance, was re-nominated by the president, there is no certainty
that she will retain the portfolio. She was initially minister of state for
budget and planning before the sudden departure of Kemi Adeosun from the
cabinet. Ahmed recently indicated interest in being returned and even made a
policy pronouncement on fuel subsidy, a comment that would naturally be made by
the minister of finance or petroleum resources. Was she leaking a secret on her
likely portfolio in the second cabinet?
 |
Zainab acted briefly before becoming
substantive finance minister in the last cabinet
|
She has a rival though. A look at
the list shows that Sabo Mohammed Nanono boasts of more economic and financial
experience than Ahmed. Nanono, 73, was the managing director of African
International Bank (AIB). He studied at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna
State (1969-72); University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA, (1976-77); Harvard
Business School, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA, (1994, at the age of
48). He is about the only known economist on ministerial list.
YOUNGEST IS 44
This might cause some discomfort
but that’s the reality: the youngest person in the president’s new cabinet is
aged 44. Sadiya Umar Farouq, who is currently the federal commissioner at the
National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons,
was born on November 5, 1974 and turns out to be the youngest of the 43 persons
on the ministerial list.
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| At 44, Farouk is the biggest gain for #NotTooYoungToRun |
Although youth inclusion in
democratic processes has been in the limelight in the country, the executive
has been out of the picture while the legislature has recorded little progress.
Interestingly, while signing the “Not Too Young To Run” law which reduced the
age qualifications for elective positions, the president had told the youth:
“You are undoubtedly Nigeria’s most important resource – not oil, not
agriculture, not solid minerals – but you and all of us. Your energy,
intelligence and talent are what will drive and develop Nigeria, long after we
are all gone.”
TINUBU’S IMPRINT?
Some of those on the ministerial
list have one thing in common: close ties to Bola Tinubu, a national leader of
the All Progressives Congress (APC). The ministerial list has shown that Tinubu
is indeed a stakeholder in this administration, unlike in the last cabinet when
his men were frozen out.
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| Tinubu’s main man, Aregbesola, is now in the cabinet |
Among the allies of Tinubu on the
list is Rauf Aregbesola, immediate past governor of Osun state, who served as
commissioner throughout the eight years the APC leader was governor of Lagos.
While campaigning for a second term in 2014, Aregbesola had told reporters: “I
served under one of the best public finance experts in the person of the former
governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The tutelage paid off so
handsomely and the result is what you are witnessing in Osun.”
Another of such names is Sunday
Dare who is currently an executive commissioner at the Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC). Dare had served as Tinubu’s chief of staff and special
adviser (media) when the top politician was governor of Lagos state.
 |
| Dare |
Also included is Olorunnimbe
Mamora, speaker of the Lagos state house of assembly when Tinubu was governor
and a two-term senator. Lai Mohammed, the nominee from Kwara, is also an
associate of Tinubu. Not much is known about how much input Tinubu made into the
nominations of Mamora and Mohammed.
‘FAVOURED STATES’
Some states have more than one
appointee on the list. Although the number of nominees may not be the only
determinant of whether a state is favoured or not, it is no doubt a point to
note.
 |
| Ngige |
These states are Anambra which
has Chris Ngige and Sharon Ikeazor; Bauchi with Adamu Adamu and Mariam Katagum;
Edo, Osagie Ehanire and Clement Agba; Kaduna with Zainab Ahmed and Mohammed
Mahmoud; Kano where Sabo Nanono and Bashir Magashi come from; Kwara which has
Lai Mohammed and Gbemisola Saraki; and Lagos which has Babatunde Fashola and
Mamora.
A closer look shows that the
extra nominees come from each of the six geopolitical zones with the north-west
having two: Kano and Kaduna.
NEWCOMERS ON THE SCENE
The list features some
not-so-popular names on the political scene. Among this category is Mariam
Katagum from Bauchi, who served as Nigeria’s permanent delegate to the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
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| Katagum is an ambassador |
Although
Clement Agba served under Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of Edo state and
current national chairman of the APC, as commissioner for environment and
public utility, he is not well known in the national political arena. He worked
with Chevron in various capacities, including as manager, community procurement
operations, as well as senior contracts adviser.
 |
| Pantami made his name in ICT |
There is also Isa Ali Pantami who is the incumbent director-general and chief executive officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), a position he has held since 2016. He has been in the information and communication technology (ICT) for many years and is fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS) and Nigeria Computer Society (FNCS).
WILL BUHARI REMAIN PETROLEUM MINISTER?
 |
| Buhari was minister of petroleum, like Obasanjo and Yar’Adua. Only Jonathan did not hold the petroleum portfolio at any time |
There has been no indication that
the president will relinquish his position as minister of petroleum resources.
Although Omotayo Alasoadura, a former chairman of the senate committee on
petroleum resources (upstream), appears like a candidate for the minister of
state for petroleum resources position, there is one more person to consider.
Clement Agba, who is a technocrat in the oil and gas field. As stated earlier,
Agba worked in different capacities at Chevron. Also, Goddy Jeddy Agba, from
Cross River, was a GGM at NNPC and is also in reckoning for the position.
RELIGIOUS QUESTION IN KADUNA — AGAIN
 |
| El-Rufai said Buhari endorsed his Muslim-Muslim ticket for governorship, and now the two nominees from Kaduna are Muslims |
With the row generated by Nasir
el-Rufai’s Muslim-Muslim ticket in the build-up to the 2019 elections, many
would have expected Buhari to make certain “balancing” considerations in the
state in the ministerial appointments. In November, el-Rufai caused a stir in
Kaduna when he announced that his running mate is a Muslim. The Pentecostal
Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) had accused the governor of “fanning the embers of
religious disunity” in the state by his choice. In response, el-Rufai said he
consulted the president before settling for his running mate. TheCable
understands that el-Rufai’s former deputy, Barnabas Bantex, was in contention
but he was dropped from the final list. Bantex is a Christian. Zainab Ahmed and
Mohammed Mahmoud were nominated from the state.
LAI’S ICPC BAGGAGE
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ICPC wants Mohammed as a witness in a N2.5 billion case |
Critics argue that for a
government that sees the fight against corruption as a priority, Lai Mohammed
would have at least been cleared of the allegations levelled against him before
his renomination. Mohammed, who is among the 13 ministers reappointed by the
president, has been asked by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to
explain his role in the alleged misapplication of N2.5 billion federal
government’s digital switch-over (DSO) programme.
ICPC had filed a 12-count charge
against Ishiaq Kawu, director-general of the National Broadcasting Commission
(NBC), over an alleged abuse of office and money laundering. The former
minister was questioned after the ICPC said its investigators discovered that a
government white paper that governs the execution of the DSO programme was
flouted by the head of NBC. Mohammed was said to have admitted that he was
misled by Kawu, as stated in court by Osanato Olugbemi, an ICPC witness. Given
that the alleged infractions were committed during Mohammed’s first term as
minister, his reappointment has set tongues wagging.
culled: TheCable
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