President Bola Tinubu on Thursday submitted the list of 28 nominees for cabinet positions. The names were sent to the Senate for approval two days before the deadline.
BattaFiles however understands that former governors and lawmakers dominate the list.
The ex-lawmakers on the list are Abubakar Momoh, Yusuf Tuggar, Ekperipe Ekpo, Abubakar Kyari, John Enoh, and Sani Danladi
While Momoh, Tuggar, and Ekpo are former members of the House of Representatives, Kyari, Enoh and Danladi have in the past served in the Senate.
Tinubu also nominated four former governors including Nasir El Rufai, Abubakar Badaru, Dave Umahi, and Nyesom Wike.
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While there is no law that bars former governors from serving as ministers, it appears that ministerial positions are compensation for those that are loyal and contribute to the success of the president.
Recall that Wike, a longtime member of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), did not back the party’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in this year’s election and instead headed a team of five breakaway PDP governors who insisted on having a president from southern Nigeria.
Also, the list contains seven women: Hannatu Musawa, Betta Edu, Dorris Uzoka, Nkeiruka Onyejocha, Stella Okotette, Uju Ohaneye, and Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim.
In his manifesto document titled “Renewed Hope 2023 – Action Plan for a Better Nigeria”, Tinubu said he will work with the National Assembly to increase women’s participation in government to at least 35 percent of all governmental positions.BattaFiles also observed that Tinubu left out 11 states namely Adamawa, Bayelsa, Gombe, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Lagos, Plateau, Osun, Yobe and Zamfara in the list.
