By Ayo Yusuf
The wait is over as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu finally readies to send his list of ministerial nominees to the Senate this week.
Nigerians have speculated over the composition of the president’s cabinet since his inauguration on May 29 leading to all manner of lists appearing in the social media which Mr. Tinubu’s handlers have been forced to deny.
However, with barely five days to the end of the two month deadline stipulated by the 1999 Constitution for the nomination of ministers and commissioners, the president is expected to comply with the law and send in his list before the weekend.
The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, assured reporters that the list will be available in five days.
“The minister’s list will be out this week,” he said,“Let’s wait till the names are out.”
After the experience of Nigerians during the first term of former President Muhammadu Buhari when the list of ministerial nominees took six months to be released, the National Assembly had passed a law setting a 60 day deadline from the date of inauguration for the president and governors to submit their nominees for ministers or commissioners for confirmation by the Senate or the respective state Houses of Assembly.
Consequently, Mr. Tinubu, who was sworn in as President on May 29, has to submit his ministerial list to the Senate before July 29 as mandated by law.
For a man who has hit the ground running with his monetary policy changes and swift actions in investigating the heads of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the delay in naming his ministers has come as a surprise to most Nigerians.
However, the spokesperson for the Senate, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), has assured Nigerians that the upper chamber has enough time to screen the ministerial nominees within the stipulated time.
He said, “I have reiterated severally and for the umpteenth time that there is still enough time to receive and screen the ministerial nominees. We know that Nigerians are eager to behold the executive team that will breathe oxygen into our economy and make life more abundant for us all. We are unarguably within the constitutional cover. The Senate shall surely do the needful and won’t disappoint Nigerians.”
Sunday PUNCH had earlier reported that the names of the ministerial nominees will likely be unveiled by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at the plenary this week.
