By Chukwudi Nweje

Questions, anxiety and disappointment seem to trail the first batch of 28 ministerial nominees President Bola Ahmed Tinubu transmitted to the Senate as ex-governors and politicians that had served as legislators at different times dominated the list.

The list dated July 27, 2023 and titled, ‘Request for Confirmation of Ministerial Nominees’ was read at the senate plenary last week Thursday by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio.

The list which came with a cover letter urged the Senate to expedite action and confirm the nominees without delay, to enable him constitute his Federal Executive Council (FEC).

It came few days to the expiration of the constitutionally mandated 60 days timeframe within which Tinubu was expected to submit his list of nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation.

President Muhammadu Buhari on March 17, 2023 assented to the 1999 Constitution amendment Bill that mandates the president and state governors to submit the list of nominees for ministers and commissioners to the Senate and the House of Assembly of their respective state within 60 days of taking oath of office.

The amendment was made sequel to agitations by Nigerians in 2015 when Buhari spent almost six months in office before naming his ministers. During the period of waiting, the country suffered numerous political and economic backlashes because of the absence of an executive council.

The list

Analysts who expected a list of experienced technocrats expressed disappointment as they wondered whether the list dominated by politicians including ex-governors, and former legislators is the best Tinubu could come up with after 60 days.

Among the ministerial nominees are four immediate past governors, including Nyesom Wike, Rivers State; Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Kaduna State; David Umahi, Ebonyi State; and, Mohammed Abubakar Badaru, Jigawa State.

Other nominees include, Nkeiruka Onyejocha, a lawmaker that represented Isuikwato/  Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019; Abubakar Momoh, Yusuf Maitama, Ahmad Dangiwa, Hanatu Musawa, Chief Uche Nnaji, and Dr. Beta Edu, former National Women Leader of the APC as well as Special Adviser, women Affairs, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Committee.

Also on the ministerial nominees list are Doris Aniche, Ekperikpe Ekpo, Olubumi Ojo, Stella Okotekpe, Uju Kennedy, and Bello Mohammed Goroyo. The rest are Dele Alake, the President’s Special Adviser Media and Publicity; Lateef Fagbemi, Mohammed Idris, Olawale Edun, Adebayo Adelabu, and Imma Suleiman. Others are Ali Pate, Joseph Utsev, Abubaka kyari, John Eno, and Sani Abubakar Danladi.

A bad start

Analysts expressed disappointment over the list and noted that it is not encouraging and indicates a continuation of the status quo.

Some who read between the lines wondered if the nominees, especially the four ex-governors were chosen because the President believes they would play significant roles in driving his ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ or if they were nominated as settlement for the role they played or perceived to have played in actualising the Bola Ahmed Tinubu/ All Progressives Congress (APC) victory at the February 25, 2023 Presidential election.

It is noteworthy that Wike, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is one of the G5 PDP Governors that stoutly stood against the candidacy of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, the PDP Presidential candidate for the 2023 election. Wike also mobilised Rivers State votes for Tinubu and the APC against his own party at the presidential election.

If the election result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is anything to go by, Tinubu and the APC owe their election victory to Wike. The APC won the February 25 presidential election in Rivers State in 23 local government areas of the state with a total of 231,591 or 41.8 per cent of votes cast to defeat the Labour Party that won in five local government areas with total votes of 175,071 or 31.6 per cent and the PDP that won in four local governments with total votes of 88,468 or 15.9 per cent.

El-Rufai and Badaru on their parts are among the APC Northern Governors Forum that met with President Muhamadu Buhari ahead of the APC Presidential primary in June 2022 to reiterate their demand that the presidential ticket of the party must be zoned to the South. Umahi on the other hand is an erstwhile APC presidential aspirant who withdrew from the contest before the primary and threw his weight in support of Tinubu’s aspiration.

Undoubtedly, these former governors in different ways played various roles in the election victory of Tinubu and analysts wonder if their nomination is for compensation.

Professor of Strategy and Development, Anthony Kila, who is Director at the centre for International Advanced Professional Studies (CIAPS), shares this thought. He noted that the ministerial list falls below expected standards, even as it indicates a bad start for the President Tinubu-led administration and continuation of the old order of recycling old politicians.

He said, “The list falls below expectation coming from a politically savvy president like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. We would have expected this kind of list from any other person but not Tinubu.

“Nigerians expected something new; the ministerial nominees list is filled with the names of the same politicians, former governors and former Senators and House of Representatives members, it looks more like a reward list.”

Kila, however, noted that the nominees may have been selected for a strategic reason to help the APC consolidate the administration’s hold onto power rather than their competencies.

He added, “President Tinubu is an experienced politician and very savvy. He may have selected these nominees, especially the former governors for strategic reasons of consolidating his hold onto power.

“These former governors are leaders in their respective states, and knowing that protests always start from the states, Tinubu may have deliberately chosen them so that as part of the administration, they would calm any form of protests that may arise from their states.”

He added that “it would have been better if the nominees had portfolios attached to their names to enable the Senate do a thorough screening exercise. We hope they will come up with a recovery plan for Nigeria.”

As the second batch of ministerial nominees is awaited, observers say they do not expect anything different from the first list.

By virtue of the Section 147(3) of the 1999 Constitution that says: “The President shall appoint at least one minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state,” Tinubu is expected to submit another list to accommodate states that are not yet represented.

Nominees without credibility

Some Nigerians also frown at some of the nominees whose record they say lack integrity.

A lawyer, Goddy Uwazurike, who is President of Cultural Credibility Development Initiative (CCDI), said the list is a big disappointment as some of the nominees lacked integrity and credibility.

He said, “It is a big disappointment, the addition of ex governors who have a baggage of wickedness, incompetence and betrayal makes the list disappointing.

“Check the ex-governors on the list and ask what is the situation in the states they governed? Until two months ago, El Rufai reduced the once easy going and religiously balanced Kaduna State to one of the most ethnic and religious disjointed states in Nigeria where Christians and Muslims and Fulani and indigenous people are at each other’s throat. El Rufai left a legacy of bloodshed in Kaduna State.

“The ex-governor of Ebonyi State could not get the state to work in harmony. All that we heard daily was killings and arson.

“The other two ex-governors with lots of resources, were only engaged in betrayal and pomp and vicious display of power. Other nominees have to clear their names, especially, on the issue of forged documents. People are bound to ask, which Ojo of Ondo is this, a member of the family of the President? Transparency is needed; we must not accept ‘take a bow and go or a cover up screening by the Senate.”

Another lawyer, Richardson Onyebueke agrees that the ministerial nominees list is disappointing.

He said, “It is the same set of old politicians who have failed to govern well. They are a set of betrayers who can’t be trusted; they are not technocrats, so why did it take President Tinubu such a long time to appoint them; there is nothing new in this administration, it is the same failed politicians that are coming to form the government.”

Mix of good and bad

Weighing in, leaders of some socio-cultural organisations in the country described the list of ministerial nominees as a compilation of the good and the bad.

For instance, Coordinator of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, noted that some of the nominees were intellectually sound and would contribute positively to the development of the country, while some carried excess political baggage that might weigh the country down.

President of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, said the nominees would contribute positively to Nigeria’s development.

President of Middle Belt Forum, (MBF), Dr. Bitrus Pogu, on the other hand condemned the inclusion of some ex-governors in the list.

He said, “There are some characters there that are going to be opposed, like the former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-rufai, who said they were going to take over for Islam. When the president gives appointment to such characters, it just indicates that his own thinking and that of the person are the same. It is not good for Nigeria and the insensitivity there is not accepted by any sane and developed society.”

But, Secretary-General of Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Oladipo Oyewole, hailed the list as a combination of some of the best and brightest minds in Nigeria, saying the council believes that the technocrats among the nominees would form a formidable team with President Tinubu to move Nigeria to greater heights.

He described Tinubu as a forward-thinking President who focuses on correcting long-standing issues facing the country. He stated that while the Nigerian public might be experiencing some hardship presently, the stage for socio-political and economic prosperity is being set.

President’s prerogative

Prince Adewole Adebayo, Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 election said that regardless of the merits or otherwise of the nominees in the list, that it is the President’s prerogative to appoint whoever he wants as minister in his cabinet.

He said, “they reflect the prerogatives of President Tinubu. It is within his right to select his team according to his vision of his presidency. It is absolutely an area where he should be allowed full benefits of the doubt.

“The President is 99 per cent of the presidency. All the ministers are 100 per cent of his making. It is left for him to succeed or not. That’s the nature of a constitutional executive Presidency. Only he would know who is best for him and his mission.

“The role of the Senate is to be sure that the nominees meet constitutional requirements and have no ethical and other moral complications.”

Buck stops on Tinubu’s desk

A public affairs analyst and author, Adebayo Adeolu noted that the ministerial nominees list is a compendium of either old politicians or their scions, but has a good ethnic and religious blend.

He said, “the ministerial list of President Tinubu is full of surprises as it consists of many familiar faces and those not familiar to people are children of the old generation former public office holders.

“There seems to be an absence of technocrats and academics in the composition of the ministers; it is not a dynamic team that has been chosen but people who will continue with the status quo.

“However, the President seems to have delivered a balanced cabinet of ministers. The Christian and Muslim nominees are balanced so that has put an end to the Muslim -Muslim ticket of the APC and the Islamisation crisis in Nigeria where the public had earlier felt people of the Muslim faith would dominate the cabinet.”

Nigerians must demand good governance

Adeolu said that while the quality of ministerial nominees is important, that emphasis should also be put on the Senate that screen and confirms the President’s choice of ministers as well as the president making the appointment.

He said, “The ministerial nominees are subject to approval by the Senate, and if they are confirmed, the President does not have to agree with all the advices and recommendations they give to him, if he is not comfortable with such advice.

“The economic situation in Nigeria is at a crisis level, inflation devaluation and heavy debt are a big challenge for the government, Nigeria has been squeezed to the limit and it requires a dynamic team of the President and his Ministers to get Nigeria out of the crisis situation.”