Indications have emerged that the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, will be appointed as the Minister of Power by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Nigerians eagerly await the unveiling of Tinubu’s cabinet.
According to sources, barring any last-minute changes, the Nigeria Senate will unveil the ministerial list on Thursday.
A source in the office of the Clerk of the Senate told The Whistler that contrary to the revelation on Tuesday by the Clerk of the Senate, Magaji Tambuwal, that the list was up for unveiling on Wednesday, it is still being awaited.
The source said that “except that they are keeping close tabs on it so as not to make it leak, it has not arrived as of Wednesday morning before plenary.”
But a Presidency source, who is privy to those the president would have presented to the Senate for consideration, revealed that the list set to be unveiled on Thursday would have El-Rufai, a former FCT minister, as Minister of Power.
When asked if El-Rufai was on the list and the portfolio, he said, “Yes, he’s there, as the Power Minister.”
Another source confirmed that the list was ready as “all security checks have been conducted and concluded on the 37 names expected.”
He explained that the list had been tinkered with several times by President Tinubu owing to disagreement from states and stakeholders.
The source revealed that El-Rufai has begun “to meet some experts he wants to work with to fix the power problem. It’s a take home the Tinubu administration wants.”
He said El-Rufai’s appointment was to enable him to bring his managerial skill “like he did in Abuja” to bear on the administration.
The ministerial list is expected to be presented on Thursday or next week on legislative days of Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
Any presentation of the list to the Senate beyond these days would be tantamount to illegality as the amended constitution provides the president and governors 60 days window to form a cabinet.
