THE SHAPE OF BUHARI’S CABINET

Ahead of the May 29 formal takeover
of power by the President- elect, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, the likely
shape of his cabinet is gradually emerging. Sources told New Telegraph that the
presidentelect has been holding meetings with the leadership of the party,
stakeholders, close associates and personalities that influenced his election
on the composition of his cabinet. Besides, it was learnt that Buhari mandated
the APC National Leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, to head a team to search for
“credible and competent Nigerians” who will form the cabinet of the incoming
administration. Several familiar faces may surface as cabinet members in
Buhari’s administration while the party leadership are expected to nominate
people into the cabinet.

Vice-President-elect, Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo, might not have influence in the choice of ministerial nominees from
the South-West because of the influence of Tinubu, it was learnt. According to
the sources, three outgoing governors have been pencilled in as ministers. It
was learnt that the president-elect has spoken to Governors Babatunde Fashola
(Lagos), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers) and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) on his plan to have
them in his government.

Fashola is being tipped for the
office of Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice while
Kwankwaso, already a senator-elect, is being considered for the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) slot. If the proposal sails through, Kwankwaso’s appointment
will follow the recent tradition where FCT Minister are picked from the Senate.
Senators Adamu Ailero and Bala Mohammed were appointed FCT ministers as serving
senators. With the influence of Kwankwaso, who is a former Minister of Defence,
Buhari got 1.9 million votes from Kano in the March 28 presidential poll, the
highest from any state.

Contrary to speculations that
Amaechi may be appointed as Secretary to the Government of the Federation
(SGF), New Telegraph learnt that he was being considered for a ministerial
appointment. Amaechi heads the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation. The
three governors will be appointed as ministers on zonal basis. Fashola will
represent South-West, Kwankwaso and Amaechi will take the slot for North- West
and South-South respectively. Lagos, Kano and Rivers are likely to get two
ministers each in the new cabinet.

“The three governors will be part
of Buhari’s cabinet. Don’t forget that the trio played crucial roles in the
election of Buhari. Fashola was the head of Finance Committee, Amaechi was the
Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation while Kwankwaso
delivered the highest number of votes to the president-elect. The governors are
on top priority of people to be appointed ministers. “The office of the SGF is
so sensitive to the government and Amaechi does not have the temperament for
the office.

Surely, he will get an influential
ministry,” the source said. In addition, it was gathered that a former Chief of
Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahaman Bello Dambazau, is also being considered to
be either the Minister of Defence or National Security Adviser (NSA). Dambazau,
a holder of Doctorate in Criminology, was the Director of Security and
Intelligence of the Buhari campaign organisation. The Secretary to the Borno
State Government (SSG), Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda, is being tipped as the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) or in the alternative, he
will be given a ministerial appointment. Jidda has been Borno’s SSG for more
than 12 cumulative years.

Another figure likely to be in the
Buhari’s cabinet is a former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale
Edun, who is a Tinubu’s protégé. Edun is presently in the United States
attending the Work Bank meeting as the head of APC delegation that accompanied
Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala, to the event. It was learnt that Tinubu was pushing for Edun’s
appointment to succeed Okonjo-Iweala. But former President Olusegun Obasanjo is
rooting for erstwhile Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Charles
Soludo, for the position. Obasanjo, a former Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT)
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who had a running battle with President
Goodluck Jonathan and campaigned for the APC, is expected to nominate people
into Buhari’s cabinet.

Deputy Director-General
(Operations) of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation and former Lagos
Speaker, Senator Olorunnibe Mamora, is being tipped as the Ogun State nominee.
Former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, may represent Osun
State in the cabinet. The candidacy of Oyinlola, a former National Secretary of
PDP whose ouster was engineered by the party leadership before he defected to
the APC, is being backed by Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Obasanjo.

It was also learnt that former
Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, will make the Buhari cabinet.
Fayemi’s choice, one of the sources told New Telegraph, was against the will of
Tinubu who preferred one of his former aides from the state. But Buhari is
insisting on Fayemi’s candidacy on the strength of his contribution to his
victory as the Head of Policy and Strategy of the Presidential Campaign Council
and his handling of the national convention of the APC which produced Buhari as
the party’s candidate. Also on the list is a former Minister of Communications
and onetime National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who is to represent
Benue State in the cabinet. Ogbeh was the head of Buhari Campaign Organisation
until the former military ruler picked the APC presidential ticket in the
December 2014 primaries.Senator Chris Ngige, who lost his re-election, is also
being considered as nominee from Anambra State.

But a source said Ngige’s choice
had not been finalised because his contribution to Buhari’s victory was
minimal. The PDP trounced the APC in the South-East in the general elections.
The APC National Vice- Chairman (North-East), Bibi Lawal, is also on the list
of likely ministers. Lawal is one of the political associates of Buhari and has
been with the former military ruler for more than 20 years. The National
Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is another figure Buhari
has shortlisted for appointment as minister.

There are speculations that
Mohammed may head the Ministry of Information. It was also learnt that the
Chief of Staff to the President-elect, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), will be given a
separate appointment in the presidency but not in his present capacity. Ali is
a former Military Administrator of Kaduna State. One of the sources said former
Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, though optimistic of a ministerial
appointment, may end up as head of powerful Federal Government agency.

“Though Sylva is close to Buhari,
he is being considered for another appointment, but not as a minister,” the
source said. But an aide of the former governor, told New Telegraph that Sylva
was hopeful of a ministerial appointment. Also likely to be in the cabinet is
an activist and one of the pillars of #BringbackourGirls# campaign, Hajiya
Hadiza Bala Usman. Hadiza, daughter of the late Dr. Yusufu Bala Usman, the
radical lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, is expected to man the
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) as Special Adviser.

Former Chief Economic Adviser to
the late President, Tanimu Yakubu, may stage a comeback. “Tanimu will be in the
government, but not likely as a minister. He will function in a different
capacity,” the source said. It was learnt that a former Minister of Education
and an ally of Obasanjo, Mrs. Obi Ezekwesili, was being considered for a
ministerial initially, but the party leadership opposed her nomination for what
it called her arrogance and hatred for the APC.

However, as a departure from the
PDP, the national leadership of the APC will nominate ministers for Buhari. The
outgoing government of PDP has a structure of ministers being nominated by
governors. A Board of Trustees (BoT) member of APC told New Telegraph yesterday
in Abuja that the president- elect had conceded the power to nominate ministers
into his cabinet to the national leadership of the party. He explained that the
view of the presidentelect on the ministerial nominees was that if they come
from the leadership of the party, every member would owe his allegiance to the
party. But if they come from the governors, party members would owe their allegiance
to the governors, the source added.

New Telegraph, however, learnt that
Buhari had saddled Tinubu with the task of searching for “credible and
competent Nigerians” for the cabinet. A source said Tinubu would be assisted by
Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; former Abia State Governor, Dr
Ogbonnaya Onu and Kaduna State Governorelect, Mallam Nasir El- Rufai, among
others. Besides, the source added that APC leaders were apprehensive that the
proposed cut in the cost of governance by the incoming Buhari administration
would mean “less patronage to be dispensed by party stakeholders.” The source
said one of the cardinal objectives of Buhari was to scout for “credible,
competent and tested Nigerians across the geopolitical zones to hit the ground
running from May 29.” He equally listed cut in costs of governance at all
levels, including the National Assembly, as another major policy of the new
leader.

The source, who is from the
South-South, also expressed optimism that the APC would have a strong footing
in the oil-rich region. He said: “The first major objective of the new
leadership is to ensure that a crack team, made up of credible, competent and
tested Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones, is put together by the
president and I think this is being spear headed by the former Governor of
Lagos State who has been mandated to scout for such persons without bias.”

Reacting to the composition of the
incoming cabinet, Mohammed cautioned against pre-emptive comments, especially
from leaders of the APC, saying only the presidentelect can make categorical
statements on the policy direction of the incoming government. He said:”For
God’s sake, why are we running faster than our shadows? It is highly
preposterous for anyone to do this. General Buhari is a man of experience;
policy direction and statements can only come from him or anyone directed by
the party. “In all honesty, only the president-elect, the party chairman or the
national publicity secretary can make statements as regards what direction the
incoming government is going.”