President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a list of his 43 ministerial-nominees, comprising 14 returnee ministers and 29 new appointees to the Senate.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who read out the President’s letter at plenary on Tuesday, said the screening of the nominees would start on Wednesday. Buhari returns 14 former ministers, drops 17.
The returnee ministers include Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) ) Hadi Sirika (Katsina), Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna), Lai Mohammed (Kwara) and Chris Ngige (Anambra), while among the new appointees are Ambassador Maryam Katagun (Bauchi), Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa) and George Akume (Benue).
The remaining returnee ministers are Adamu Adamu (Bauchi), Abubakar Malami (Kebbi), Godfrey Onyeama (Enugu), Ogbonnaya Onu (Ebonyi), Osagie Enahire (Edo), Suleiman Adamu (Jigawa), Mohammed Bello (Adamawa) and Mustapha Baba Shehuri (Borno).
However, some of the former ministers who were not reappointed are: Okechukwu Enelamah (Abia), Udo Udo Udoma (Akwa Ibom), Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa), Audu Ogbeh ( Benue) and Usani Uguru (Cross River).
Others are Ibe Kachikwu (Delta), Anthony Anwuka (Imo ), Stephen Ochani (Kogi), Abdulrahaman Dambazau (Kano), Abubakar Bawa Bwari ( Niger ), Cladius Omoleye Daramola (Ondo), Isaac Adewole (Osun ), Adebayo Shittu (Oyo ), Solomon Dalong (Plateau), Aisha Abubakar (Sokoto ) and Mansur Dan Ali (Zamfara).
Only a Nigerian with skewed thinking will see nothing wrong about the ministerial nominee list. To drive home the point, it is nothing short of the ruling party compensation list – am appreciation scheme for APC supporters. The list is indicative of the level of stagnancy and misery that will soon befall Nigeria. You can’t keep doing something one way and expect different result – that’s insanity. Now, more people will have to run to Canada again.
The list is full of incompetent and aged people with little or no knowledge of what works in the 21st century and people with questionable character. There is no sign this administration is serious with anything, not even the corruption they claim to be fighting. Several persons on the ministerial list failed woefully in their first term as ministers but the President wants them to continue again. Continue for what? To complete the ruins they activated in their first spell in office, I guess. All we can see is same old face, with analogue brains void of ideas to move Nigeria to the next level.
While we lament the incompetence of people on the list, we should as well observe that the list is gender imbalanced. Is it that we have no competent women in Nigeria? If yes, then something is wrong with our girl child education. The list is made up of only seven women against 36 men that made it into the list. The seven women are; Sharon Ikeazer, Zainab Ahmed, Gbemisola Saraki, Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, Sadiya Farouk, Mariam Katagun and Pauline Tallen. They (women) comprise of 16.3% with the rest percentage going to men.
The ministerial nominee list released by the Presidency showed that the NW has the highest number of nominee, with the SE having the lowest. Is it that the SE offended Mr. President because they voted their mind in the last elections? Only God knows.
Nigerians like me are not surprised with the list. We are just tired of the misery Nigeria has gotten into. Is this the next level they promised? Nothing in that list shows that there’s any next level destination for Nigeria. May God give Nigerians the fortitude to bear this administration for another four years.
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