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From: Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi; Noah Ebije, Kaduna; Tony Osauzo and Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
President Bola Tinubu recently constituted his cabinet and assigned portfolios to the new ministers. In this report, Nigerians shared their views on what they want from the new ministers.
They should shun corruption – Ehiabhi Jackson Ose, lawyer
I expect them to complement the effort of the president in giving better meaning to governance. They should live above board in their ministries, take charge of their ministries and most importantly, shun corruption because corruption is a demon that has been hunting this country.
They should pursue national interest, not sectional – Tony Erha, media consultant
They all should go out and pursue the interests of the country and not the states, regions or sections they come from and deliver to all Nigerians, their supposed primary constituents, and to Nigeria, their primary constituency.
In particular, I want to urge the assigned minister for the Federal Capital Territory to make Abuja a home for all Nigerians, devoid of tribes, religions and other undue considerations. He should restore the Abuja master plan, which had been neglected and defaced for so long. We can’t afford to have another Lagos slum as Nigeria’s symbolic capital”.
They should carry out their duties with human face – S. C. Ogoke Ese, lawyer
The manner the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, dished out threats while stating his work plans is not acceptable. It is not proper for the Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to be appointed and the first starting point of such a minister was to be dishing out threats to the ordinary citizens of Nigeria or residents of Abuja.
I just went through a write up not quite long, where I saw the first step he is taking was to demolish about 6000 homes. Yes, they may have been wrongly built but somebody also watched them built and those ones were also once in authorities. There are better ways where such issues can be resolved instead of fight. Let us think before taking certain decisions. They have been appointed, they should carry out their duties with human face and not to see Nigerians as people they have come to undo.
They should be giving directives in the field, not sitting in offices–Goodluck Ibem, social activis
We want the new ministers to hit the ground running on assumption of office by taking their job seriously. We want them to be in the field and not sitting in their air conditioned offices giving directives to their staff who may not deliver the required results.
The Minister of Works Senator Dave Umahi started on a good note by visiting Abuja – Lokoja road and other roads to see for himself the true condition and situation of the roads and not relying on information brought to him by the ministry’s staff. He has proved that he came to work for the benefit of Nigerians. As a civil engineer who proved his mettle as the governor of Ebonyi State, we are confident he will replicate the same feat in his new assignment.
They should show accountability, abide by rule of law – John Fwah, community leader
All eyes are on the new ministers to deliver the much talked about dividends of democracy and they are expected to abide by the rule of law, accountability, so as to give the democracy a sound footing as it grows. They should not be flash in the pan officers as we have seen in the past.
The fact that they made it and were sworn in goes to confirm the maximum confidence in them by the president and the Nigerian populace. They should be aware that Nigerians look forward to them to perform in their various portfolios. A look at their individual portfolios indicates that all the aspects of the Nigerian national affairs, in terms of economic, social and political are visited by the president and his think tank. They are not strangers to the situation in the country and therefore must be told that to whom much is given much is expected. They should be told that Nigerians expect them to deliver according to the spirit and letters of their appointments.
The ministers should realise that they are there to serve and not vice versa, having been selected from various zonal, geopolitical, religious and ethnic divide. They must rise to the challenge ahead of them in their new assignment so as to give the teeming millions of Nigerians hope.
Security should be on the front burner – Josephine Habba, DG, Benue Peace Commission
I expect that topmost on their agenda should be the issue of security of lives and property of Nigerians, which the constitution is very explicit about and if any reasonable minister wants to have work done. There isn’t development without peace. So my expectation would be that every minister, even if you are the minister of clapping of hands and sitting down, you should look for the environment that is peaceful, an environment that will enable you to do the clapping of hands and sitting down. Firstly, can we have stability of security of lives and property in Nigeria? Can we look at the issue of farmer/herders in Nigeria? Can we also look at the issue of banditry? Nigeria is going through a lot of crises and these crises can negate anything that anybody is bringing to do in this country if today we don’t have respect for peace.
They should work towards improving our economy – Dachyilo Luka Sarki, cleric
I expect the just constituted ministers to quickly settle down and work effectively for the progress and development of our society. In particularly, they should work towards improving our economy, roads, schools, hospitals and security matters should first be looked into and they should also help our federal government to improve the lives of the poor masses to enable everyone in the country live a happy life and be at peace with each other.
They should use their positions to improve the well-being of Nigerians – Alfred Mangai, lecturer
The new ministers should understand that they have one job to do and that is to make life easier for the average Nigerian because due to the policies of this administration, so many Nigerians are suffering. So they should use their positions to improve the well-being of Nigerians and reduce the hardship in the land.
