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•Ex-govs, technocrats top list, stakeholders make case for youths
From Fred Itua, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has forwarded names of ministerial nominees to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, for confirmation.
Sources told Daily Sun that the list was submitted, yesterday, to Akpabio by the Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
According to a new amendment to the 1999 Constitution, the president and governors must submit names of persons nominated as ministers or commissioners for confirmation by the senate or House of Assembly within 60 days after taking oath of office.
Tinubu was sworn in as President on May 29, three months after his election on February 25.
This means Tinubu and all the governors must submit lists of nominees for ministers and commissioner before the end of July.
Already, Daily Sun learnt that the Department of State Service (DSS) had concluded background checks, which included security screenings on all the ministerial nominees prior to their names being forwarded to the senate for confirmation.
The screening by the DSS, it was learnt, was based on Tinubu’s instruction, to avoid a repeat of embarrassing moments experienced during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose ministers were either accused of certificate forgery or caught in other misdemeanors.
Though identities of the nominees were still shrouded in secrecy at press time, there are insinuations that the ministers would be drawn from the public and private sectors, as well as politicians who played key roles in the emergence of Tinubu as president.
Akpabio is expected to read the letter on the floor of the Senate this week and announce modalities to be adopted during the confirmation hearing.
One of the sources told Daily Sun that some former governors, technocrats and allies of Tinubu made the list.
Meanwhile, the Amalgamated Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria (CAN), a non-profit, non-governmental, has called for the inclusion of youths in governance.
The group urged Tinubu to look for viable, virile, and professional youths occupying various offices nationwide and engage them, instead of using worn-out, fatigued and corrupt leaders that have brought the country to its knees.
The group said the time of using recycled, failed or disgruntled politicians was over, as Nigeria was blessed with lots of youthful technocrats and bureaucrats with energy eagerly waiting to contribute their quota to national development.
The group, therefore, solicited for the cooperation of the Tinubu administration to look beyond former governors, ministers and people that hitherto contributed to the rot in the country.
National President of the group, Gbenga Abiodun and General Secretary, Yakubu Abdullahi, posited that “the continued usage of old hands will not augur well for the country, knowing full well that, most of them are facing graft issues and corruption allegations over their necks. Age is not on their side as they no longer have what it takes to preside over 21st Century organizations, as they are fatigued and too old to take modern decisions capable of bringing the desired change.”
The CSOs noted that the youths were already playing a significant role in governance, because “65 per cent of Nigeria’s population is under 25. Therefore, we need to prioritize the affairs of the youthful population like never before. They also echoed that, “the collaborative efforts between generations are vital to achieving a sustainable effective and efficient governance that serves the collective interest of all.”
