By Yemi Yusuf
After waiting with bated breath, Nigerians may soon know their ministers as President Bola Tinubu prepares to send list of nominees to the Senate for confirmation.
Sources close to the president reveal that the first batch of the list will be before the Senate as it resumes sitting after its break while a second list is sure to follow soon after.
The president is required to appoint one minister from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to assist him in running the government.
His predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari,
appointed 44 ministers with some states getting two ministers.
The New Diplomat gathered that the first batch is made up of technocrats in line with the desire of President Tinubu to get the economy running as quickly as possible.
Investigation revealed that some serving senators from the North and the South are on the list.
“The president wants a Federal Executive Council that is performance-driven and has consequently head-hunted some highly competent technocrats to assist him in achieving his Renewed Hope Agenda upon which Nigerians voted for him.
“The president is aware of the need to depart from the old order in the appointment of ministers. He has demonstrated it in Lagos State that he is a talent spotter. Rest assured he is assembling a crack team to confront the problems in the country,”said a source who wants to remain anonymous.
This paper was reliably informed that a former Chief Executive Officer of a commercial bank from the South-West who joined partisan politics in 2020 is one of the technocrats on the list. He may be required to man the Ministry of Finance where his core competence will fit in.
Kano State, like Rivers and Lagos remains one of the most problematic places where competing groups want to submit names especially with the ongoing war between the immediate past governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje and his predecessor, Rabiu Kwankwaso. The president has reportedly been able to reach some kind of compromise with the opposing groups and their leaders.
President Tinubu, it was learnt, gave Buhari the honour of presenting a nominee from Katsina State. The former president is said to have sent a name to his successor.
As a demonstration of his determination to begin the rebuilding of the economy immediately, the Senate is expected to receive the first batch this week.
Apart from the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who may have been penciled in as the nominee from the state, some of his colleagues in the G-5 camp may also make the list.
It was gathered that some of these governors who lost their senatorial bids and could not install successors in their states might be considered for appointments.
“The president is taking time to select those he believes will add value and move the country forward, particularly on the economic front,” said a source close to the President.
