President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Nigerians demand reforms upon Tinubu’s ministerial list. Technocrats are rumored to dominate the list, and Tinubu asked for prayers to help him make the best decision – Senate Leader
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As President Bola Tinubu is anticipated to present the much anticipated ministerial list to the National Assembly in the next 24 hours for review, Nigerians have demanded economic growth.
The President waited until the very last minute to submit the list in order to make sure that it was comprehensive and representative of what was best for the country, according to a presidential adviser who spoke to The PUNCH on condition of anonymity on Tuesday.
The insider said that the list, which is anticipated to include a mix of technocrats and tried-and-true politicians, would include more technocrats who would aid in advancing the President’s Renewed Hope program for the ensuing four years.
The President and Governors must submit the names of the nominees for their ministerial and commissioner positions to the Senate or state House of Assembly for confirmation within 60 days of taking the oath of office, according to the Fifth Amendment to the 1999 Constitution.
Law requires Tinubu, who took office as president on May 29, to submit his cabinet list to the Senate before July 29.
The presidential adviser stated, “President Bola Tinubu will transmit the ministerial list to the National Assembly tomorrow (today),” speaking in light of the constitutional requirement. To make sure he gets it right, he has delayed sending the list to the federal parliamentarians. There can be little doubt that a mix of experienced politicians and technocrats will be on the list.
The President has stated categorically that his choices for the upcoming four years, beginning with the cabinet list, will be chosen with Nigeria’s best interests in mind and not with political reasons.
Another assistant, who did not want his name disclosed, responded when asked for the names on the list, “One thing we have been told is that the ministerial list is something the Commander-in-Chief is keeping close to his chest.”
Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, Nyesom Wike, Wale Edun, the Special Adviser for Monetary Policies, as well as a number of other technocrats and politicians have all been mentioned as potential ministerial nominations in recent weeks.
Tinubu requested a prayer.
Meanwhile, the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, on Tuesday, said the President sought prayers of Nigerians for him to make the right choice.
Bamidele disclosed this while speaking in Abuja at his 60th birthday lecture and book presentation titled: “Leadership through Communication.”
According to Bamidele, Tinubu, who was scheduled to serve as the event’s father, contacted to inform her that he would be unable to attend due to ongoing efforts to have the Senate’s ministerial list submitted within the next 48 hours.
He stated, “Mr. President was on the phone at 10:03 this morning. Opeyemi, I need to make myself inaccessible for the next 48 hours because the Senate has to receive a correspondence that is of the utmost importance. He mentioned as much to me.
I was prayed for by Mr. President. He prayed for my wife and requested me to give the phone to her.
“He said the two of us should join the rest of Nigerians and pray for him to be able to make the right decision on the list in 24 hours so that when Nigerians hear the list of his ministers they will say ‘yes, this is uncommon.’”
Tempers flare in Bayelsa
Meanwhile, some APC members in Bayelsa State have resisted what they claim are the former president Goodluck Jonathan’s desperate attempts to propose someone for the state’s ministerial position in Tinubu’s cabinet.
The parties involved in the Bayelsa APC Elders Council’s initiative denounced Jonathan’s action and argued that it was improper for him to reap where he did not sow.
The chairman of the elders’ council, Chief Michael Adomokeme, questioned why the former president was trying to create a minister after actively and publicly supporting the Peoples Democratic Party’s nominee, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 presidential election, in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Yenagoa.
He stressed that Jonathan was treading an unfair and unjust route and that his desperation was comparable to that of someone attempting to collect wages from an organization that he did not work for.
Adomokeme expressed hope that Tinubu, who is known for rewarding effort, would prevent a situation in which “monkey work, baboon chop” would apply.
People shouldn’t strive to harvest where they have never sown, the APC elder stated. Some of us have been here from the beginning of our party, when simply being a member was frowned upon.
You all will recall that Jonathan and his group referred to the APC in Bayelsa as the Islamic Party or the Hausa Party. When the elections for 2023 rolled along, President Jonathan did everything in his power to ensure that we would lose, but as God would have it, we triumphed. What right has he to suddenly want to now nominate the minister from Bayelsa State?”
Some capital market operators, on Tuesday, stated that the ministerial list and the portfolios of the ministers would have an impact on the sustainability of the bullish run of the market.