All may now be set for the inauguration of the new Federal Executive Council as the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, yesterday formally presented the list of 36 ministerial nominees screened and confirmed by the Senate to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Saraki arrived at the seat of power around 3:00pm on Tuesday accompanied by the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang and the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Suleiman Kawu.
Saraki also confirmed this development on Tuesday, using his Twitter handle where he tweeted: “Today, I presented the confirmed list of ministers to Mr. President.”
DAILY POST recalls that the President had on September 30, submitted the first list of ministerial nominees containing 21 names to the Senate President. Days later, in October; he submitted another list containing 16 names to Saraki.
On October 14, he however withdrew the nomination of Musa Ibeto from Niger state on the ground of an administrative error.
Meanwhile, the Senate confirmed all the 36 nominees as ministers after a screening exercise that stretched for five days.
The following are among those confirmed as minister: Lai Mohammed, Babatunde Fashola, Kayode Fayemi, Ogbonnaya Onu, Audu Ogbeh, Ibe Kachikwu, Amina Mohammed and Chibuike Amaechi. Others are Heineken Lokpobiri, Cladius Daramola, Adebayo Shittu, Shehuri Mustapha, Ocholi James, Adewole Folorunso, Bawa Bwari, Geoffrey Onyeama, Zainab Ahmed, Mansur Dan Ali, Usani Uguru, Okechukwu Enelamah, Anwuka Anthony, Musa Bello, Adamu Adamu, Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim and Aisha Abubakar.
However, the President, while receiving the confirmed list, again reiterated his earlier position that some of his Ministers will operate without portfolios as the government cannot afford to fund 36 ministries due to limited funds.
It would be recalled that while addressing a press conference after the India-Africa Summit, in New Delhi- India, Buhari, while reacting to the claim that his administration is slow in the development of the nation’s ailing infrastructure said, “Where is the money? You must have known that the Federal Government had to help 27 of the 36 states to pay salaries.
“Nigeria cannot pay salaries. The Federal Government itself had to summon the governor of the Central Bank to see how it would pay salaries not to talk of the agreements we signed with foreign countries, counterpart funding and so on.”
The President pointed out that, “This country was materially vandalized and morally so and you are in a position to know even more than myself unless you are testing my knowledge whether I know it or not.” He insinuated that there had to be 36 ministers because his government “cannot work outside the constitution” which stipulates that “there must be a cabinet representative from each state.”
He affirmed further that, “Yes, there used to be 42 ministers. I think we will be lucky if we can have half of that now because we cannot afford it.
“Others may not be substantive ministers, but they will sit in the cabinet because that is what the constitution says and we cannot operate outside the constitution.”
When asked specifically whether he will reduce the number of ministers, Buhari said, “Of course! Unless you can volunteer to be paying them (ministers)”
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