Senate President, Godswill Akpabio is expected to announce the ministerial nominees at a plenary session this week, ending a two-month wait following President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration.
An amendment to the 1999 Constitution demands that the President and governors disclose the names of minister and commissioner nominees within 60 days of taking the oath of office for Senate or state Houses of Assembly confirmation.
This puts the deadline for President Tinubu and 28 governors to release their respective lists of nominees by the end of this month.
Sources from the National Assembly that spoke with The Punch revealed that the letter with the nominees’ names arrived at the Senate President’s office last week. However, the unveiling was delayed due to last-minute adjustments to the list.
One of the sources said, “The Senate President received the ministerial list last week, but it wasn’t yet time for him to unveil it. “There were some last-minute adjustments, and the Senate President had a meeting with President Tinubu over the list last week.”
A lawmaker who craved anonymity said the administration is carefully navigating to minimize backlash, contributing to the delay, assuring that the names would be read out this week.
The source said: “The names of the ministerial nominees will be out this week.
“The Asiwaju-led administration has been trying its best to avoid a backlash. The names will be unveiled this week; that is all I can say.”
Another source suggested that the unveiling would surprise many. The delay, he added was intentional due to intense lobbying, but the details of the list would shock a lot of Nigerians.
“The list of the nominees will be unveiled this week, and I can tell you that the details will shock a lot of Nigerians. I mean a lot of big politicians will be thrown aback.
This will be the real Asiwaju Tsunami.” A ranking senator shared that the screening process for the nominees is straightforward and could be completed within three days to a week.
“There is no big deal about the screening of ministers. The ministers can be screened in three days or one week. Even if we have to call special or emergency sessions after the plenary has closed for this session, we will. “But I know the list will be read out this week.” the source stated.
Source: Naija News
In another Development:
Tinubu’s Appointments Tear South-west APC Apart
The South-west All Progressives Congress (APC) Support Groups have expressed dismay over the current situation whereby most appointments made by President Bola Tinubu are being filled with those they described as ‘Lagos boys’.
In a statement issued yesterday, which was jointly signed by the Coordinator of the APC groups, Dele Fulani, and the Secretary, Lanre Asiwaju, the groups said they were constrained to note that this trend, if not checked, might make the South-west the first boiling point of Tinubu-led administration.
The groups in a letter addressed to President Tinubu, noted that a situation whereby politicians from Lagos State are seen to be the ones taking all the benefits that accrue to the entire South-west was totally unacceptable to other states in the geopolitical zone, saying Lagos is not the only state in South-west.
The groups stressed that a cursory look at the appointments made so far under Tinubu’s administration showed that majority of the people around him are all Lagos politicians.
The support groups said while they might not all be indigenes of Lagos, they are politicians based in Lagos, who have played all their politics in Lagos, lived in Lagos, and as a matter of fact, made Lagos their immediate constituency.
They stated: “We have observed, with utmost dismay, the ongoing unpleasant development at the presidency whereby most appointments are being filled with ‘Lagos boys’. “We the South-west APC Support groups are constrained to say that this trend, if not checked, might make the South-west the first boiling point of the Tinubu administration.
“Looking at the appointments of 20 aides that were recently made by Mr. President, we can categorically pinpoint 13 of them who are Lagos-based politicians.
Also, the arrival of former Lagos Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode into the fray as one of the appointment hopefuls is another fact in this direction.
” The support groups pointed out that during Tinubu’s first trip to France as President, the entourage that accompanied him on that journey were predominantly those from Lagos State, despite the fact that most of them are without official portfolio or capacity.
They added: “This is uncalled for; this administration should not be made an all-Lagos affair as it will completely go against the campaign promises of national inclusion.
Truly, this trend does not project Mr. President as a nationalist and a pan-Nigerian leader.”
The support emphasised that the president recently constituted a committee that would constitute boards of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), ironically the Chief of Staff, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, was made the chairman while the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume was made the Secretary.
The groups added that this was wrong, going by hierarchy and order of protocol, adding that Akume’s position supersedes that of Chief of Staff, stressing that Akume and not Gbajabiamila should be made the Chairman.
They said: “We advocate that for posterity and adherence to the established thematic of bureaucracy in governance, Your Excellency should reverse the appointment and make the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) the chairman of the committee and a representative of the party (APC) as the secretary.”
“Appointing the Chief of Staff as chairman of that committee is to further take care of ‘Lagos Boys’; if care is not taken, we will end up having a ‘Lagos Boys’- dominated administration at the expense of others, which will not be a break away from the norm in the last administration, where people from a particular state were given more preference at the detriment of others who were far more deserving.”
Source: THISDAY