The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday berated President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the 43-man cabinet nomination list submitted to the Senate, saying the list comprising “yesterday’s men being recycled for today’s assignment” was uninspiring and devoid of any sense of “purposeful governance.” The main opposition party said the only hope for Nigerians is the retrieval of the “stolen mandate” of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar at the presidential election tribunal.
PDP said the list was filled with “incompetent individuals who failed in their erstwhile ministerial assignments and left their ministries in a shambles…The list has further shown President Buhari and APC’s insensitivity and disdain for Nigerians and it does not in any way reflect their hope and eagerness for a better Nigeria,” PDP said in a statement. “A committed and responsive leadership would have widely consulted with Nigerians before compiling a ministerial list, given the current situation in the country,” PDP said. “Strangely, the list has no space for the youth’s demography, those to whom the future is said to belong.”
Senate president Ahmed Lawan announced the list of cabinet nominees by President Buhari, who was sworn in for a second term over two months ago. In the ministerial nominees’ list, Buhari listed former ministers such as Chris Ngige, Hadi Sirika, Rotimi Amaechi, Adamu Adamu, Mohammed Adamu, Babatunde Fashola and Lai Mohammed. Others in the list are Uche Ogah, Emeka Nwajuiba, Sadiya Farouk, Musa Bello, Godswill Akpabio, Sharon Ikeazor, Ogbonnaya Onu, Akpa Udo, and Adebayo (Ekiti).
Also, Timipre Sylva, Adamu Adamu, Shewuye (Borno), Isa Pantami, Gbemi Saraki, Ramatu Tijani, Clement Abam were also declared as part of the nominees. Paullen Tallen, Abubakar Aliyu, Sale Mamman, Abubakar Malami, Muhammed Mamood, Rauf Aregbesola, Mustapha Buba Jedi Agba, Olamilekan Adegbite, and Mohammed Dangyadi.
However, PDP described the nominees as yesterday’s men being recycled for today’s assignment. The PDP stated that it had no doubts the President and his party have no vision to improve the country economically and security-wise. Instead, PDP said Buhari nominated persons that will help him conceal corruption in his administration and channel funds to groups used to rig the 2019 elections.
Unlike his first term when he appointed only 36 ministers, one per each state, President Buhari nominated one person per geo-political zone which totaled the ministerial nominees’ to 43. The ministerial nominees are subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.
In a related development, a spokesman to former vice president Atiku Abubakar accused president Buhari of deflecting attention from the Shiite-police clash with the release of the ministerial list. Paul Ibe said President Buhari used his 43-man ministerial nominees’ list to change the narrative of the avoidable death of about 13 persons during a protest against the continued detention of their leader Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife on Monday.
“Buhari releases ministerial list ostensibly to deflect the narrative of the avoidable deaths following the Shiites protest of Monday,” Ibe said in a tweet. The protest on Monday, July 22, claimed the life of deputy police commissioner Umar Usman, who was in charge of operations at the Federal Territory Police Command, a journalist with Channels TV, Precious Owolabi and about 11 Shiites. Buhari condoled with the victims, moments after the cabinet nominees’ list was announced by Senate president Senator Ahmad Lawan on Tuesday.
