PROJECTIONS: How Tinubu may appoint ministerial cabinet
Thompson Nsisongabasi
Aug 16, 2023
PROJECTIONS: How Tinubu may appoint ministerial cabinet
With reactions trailing the ministerial nomination made by President Bola Tinubu, The Press has evaluated the profile of these nominees, predicting the portfolio the president might assign to each person.
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Going by the number of people nominated, the projections are hinged on the possibility of the president creating new ministerial portfolios that would actualise his administration's intent.
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Tinubu submitted 48 names to the Senate in the last two weeks for screening and confirmation. Initially, 28 names were submitted as the first batch of nominees. A week later, an additional 19 were submitted before a review was done, which increased the list to 48 names.
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After the screening exercise, the Senate confirmed 45 out of 48 nominees.
Also, The Press reported some analysis on the trend of governors becoming ministers, women's representation in the list and a former governor with fraud allegations.
The list consists of past governors, former and present lawmakers, former state commissioners, former ministers, former directors of government agencies, aspirants during the 2023 general election and other private sector experts.
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Key issues
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Assuming all nominees are given a portfolio, this administration would have the largest ministerial cabinet since 1999, when Nigeria retired to uninterrupted democratic governance.
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Also, the president might adopt the style of former president Muhammadu Buhari by appointing senior and junior ministers, that is, a Minister and a Minister of State.
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In addition, many of the ministerial nominees come with professional and political experience, which could make them fit into any ministerial position as core administrators.
While the professionals were grilled thoroughly, their counterpart colleagues, who were either former governors or former legislative members, were told to bow and go. This development was frowned upon by many public affairs analysts.
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For the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, "no meaningful screening can be done without asking questions pertinent to the Ministries the candidate will do when he or she gets confirmed.ÔÇØ
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According to Onyekpere, "The President needs to submit the list with the portfolios the Ministers have to hold. Also, the screening is not something that should be done in a hurry. The list needs to be submitted early to enable the National Assembly to do thorough screening through the Senate's relevant committees while reconvening on the committee as a whole for more efficiency.
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A professor of International Relations at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Charles Ukeje, said the drama surrounding the ministerial screening exposed the dark side of Nigerian politics and emphasized the urgent need for a more robust and rigorous screening process.
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He stressed that the nation's leadership recruitment process should not be reduced to a source of comic relief and that civil society must hold political leaders to higher standards of accountability, transparency, and integrity.
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How we made the projections
For our projections, we reviewed the background profiles of each nominee and cross-examined them with the nominees' trajectory as political officeholders. We also examined the questions asked during the screening exercises by the senators.
Also, in our projections, we considered the president's priority and arbitraries in assigning ministerial portfolios to minister-designates. This could depend on the president's political interests in a particular candidate and for a particular purpose. Election dynamics were also considered, and for the first time, an indigene of the Federal Capital Territory was appointed a minister since the present democratic dispensation, which started in 1999.
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This may likely be connected to assertions, in some quarters, that the President is looking possibly at an all-inclusive Presidency, which saw even the nomination of opposition party members as seen in the case of a former Governor and Minister-designate, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
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Accordingly, Wale Edun, who is projected to be the Minister of Finance, is currently a Special Adviser to Tinubu on Monetary Policies. Edun has a strong background in economics and was once a commissioner of finance in Lagos state and co-founded Stanbic IBTC Plc serving as the Executive Director.
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Meanwhile, it is already being touted that there is going to be a Ministry of Energy and Power. The focus is to give more room for gas commercialisation and full utilisation of gas to power constant electricity. The former governor of Kaduna, Nasiru El-Rufai's responses have alluded to this development. And he is projected to be the minister if he becomes a minister-designate.
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In the case of Yusuf Tuggar, Lateef Fagbemi, Dele Alake, Olawale Edun, John Enoh and Adebayo Adelabu, their appointment might be connected to the ministerial functions they have been associated with before their nomination.
Tuggar, a former ambassador, might be appointed as Minster of Foreign Affairs; Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who has served as legal counsel for the All Progressive Congress, appointed as Minister of Justice.
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Edun and Adelabu, who have been appointed as financial consultants to the government would head the Ministry of Finance; Alake, who headed Tinubu's communication during his election and after he became president, would be appointed as Minister of Information and Enoh, who has been in the appropriation committee for budget while in the Senate, as Minister of Budget and National Planning.
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Also, during the screening, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye was asked several questions by the lawmakers on how she would manage disasters like flooding and several developments in the Internally Displaced Camp. We project that she might be appointed to head the Ministry of Disaster Management.
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This is the same case with the National Women Leader All Progressives Congress, Betta Edu, projected to head the Ministry of Women Affairs. She was quizzed on issues affecting women's development within the country.
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In the case of former governors like Dave Umahi, Nyesom Wike, Atiku Bagudu, Gboyega Oyetola and Mohammed Badaru, we project that their appointment might be based on their trajectory as governors in their respective states.
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For instance, Wike, who has dealt with oil spillage in Rivers, might be given Minster of Nigeria Delta so as to manage the South-South geopolitical region best.
Umahi might become the Minster of Works due to his professional expertise in engineering and constitution. Bagudu, who is an industrialist by profession, might head the Ministry of Trade and Investment, while Oyetola, with a strong administrative background, might head the Ministry of Interior.
Ali Pate (who has links with global health funders GAVI), Heineken Lokpobiri and Joseph Utsev have respectively functioned in their professional capacities even as politicians and might be assigned to head the Ministry of Health, Environment and Water Resources, respectively.
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Also, The Press projected Bosun Tijjani, one of the youngest nominees and tech experts, might head the Ministry of Youth and Sports; owing to his tech background, he might also be tipped for Minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Another likely candidate to head the digital economy portfolio is Olubunmi Tunji Ojo.
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Zephaniah Jossalo, the only FCT indigene appointed and the first time an FCT indigene has been appointed a Minister-designate since 1999, might become FCT Minster to assuage FCT indigenes who have been pushing for the post, and Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, the former director of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons might head the Minster of Humanitarian Affairs.
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Ahmed Musa Dangiwa owing to his portfolio as a former CEO of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is projected to be the Minister of Housing, while Tahir Mamman, a professor and a university vice-chancellor, is a likely candidate for Minister of Education.
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Let us know what you think and what your projections are in the comment section.
See the projections below:
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Names
Previous political status
Professional qualification
Projection Ministerial portfolios
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Yusuf Maitama Tuggar
Ambassador to Germany
Bachelor's degree in international relations
Minister of Foreign Affairs
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Ahmed Musa Dangiwa
Fmr. MD/CEO Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria
Nil
Minister of Housing
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Hannatu Musawa
Fmr. SA on Culture and Entertainment
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Lawyer
Minister of Culture and tourism
Betta Edu
National Women Leader All progressives Congress
Public Health Expert
Minister of Culture and Tourism
Dave Umahi
Former Governor of Eboyin State
Expert on Engineering & Construction
Minister of Works
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Nyesom Wike
Former Governor of Rivers State
Lawyer
Minister of Niger Delta
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National Women Leader All Progressives Congress
Former Governor of Kaduna State
Quantity Surveyor
Minister of Power and Energy
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Olubunmi Tunji Ojo
Member, House of Reps
ICT Expert and Consultant
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*Minister of Communications and Digital Economy
Bello Muhammad Goronyo
Frm. Commissioner
Barrister
Expertise in Administration
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Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye
APC Presidential Aspirant
Lawyer
Minister of Disaster Management
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Dele Alake
S.A Communications, Strategy
Journalist
Minister of Information
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Lateef Fagbemi
Nil
Senior Advocate of Nigeria
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Minister of Justice/Attorney General of the Federation
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Olawale Edun
Presidential Adviser on Monetary Policies
Economist, ED Stanbic IBTC Plc
Minister of Finance
Festus Keyamo
Fmr. Min of State, for Labour and Employment
Lawyer, Human rights activism
Minister of Labour and Employment
Adebayo Adelabu
Frm. Gubernatorial candidate
Deputy governor, CBN
Minister of State for Finance
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Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim
Director-general NAPTIP
Human Resource Consultant
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs
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Zephaniah Jossalo
Fmr. Lawmaker
Degree in Education
FCT Minister
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Ali Pate
Fmr. Min of State for Health
Physician and Public Health Expert
Minister of Health
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Heineken Lokpobiri
Fmr. Lawmaker
Expert in Environment
Minister for Environment
Joseph Utsev
Fmr. Commissioner
Professor of civil engineering
Minister of Water Resources
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John Enoh
Fmr. Lawmaker
Nil
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Minister of Budget and National Planning
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Bosun Tijjani
Nil
CEO of Co-creation Hub
*Minister of Youth and Sport
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Atiku Bagudu
Fmr. Governor Kebbi state
Degree in Economics, M.A. International Affairs
Minister of Agriculture
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Gboyega Oyetola
Fmr. Governor Osun state
Expertises in Administration
Minister of Interior
Mohammed Badaru
Fmr. Governor Jigawa state
Industrialist
Minister of Trade and Investment
Abubakar Kyari
Ag. APC National Chairman
Masters in Business Administration
Nill
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Sani Abubakar Danladi
Lawmaker
Expertise in Administration
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Nill
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Abubakar Momoh
Lawmaker
Engineer
Nill
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Uche Nnaji
Fmr. Gubernatorial candidate APC
Nil
Nill
Muhammed Idris
Director of strategic APC campaign
Editor-in-Chief Blueprint newspaper
Nill
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Stella Okotete
Nil
Former ED NEXIM
Nill
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Bello Matawalle
Fmr. Governor Zamfara state
Nil
Nill
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Simon Lalong
Fmr. Governor Plateau state
Bachelor's degree in Law
Minister of Solid Minerals
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Mairiga Mahmud
Minister of State for Niger Delta
Lawyer
Nill
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Tunji Alausa
Nephrologist
Nil
Nill
Tanko Sununu
Lawmaker
Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Nill
Ibrahim Geidam
Fmr. Governor Yobe state
Certified Public Accountants
Nill
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Alkali Ahmed
Fmr. Lawmaker
Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics
Nill
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Uba Maigari
Fmr. Dep. Governor Taraba state
Nil
Nill
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Aliyu Sabi
Fmr. Lawmaker
Nil
Nill
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Ekperipe Ekpo
Fmr. HoR member
Nil
Nill
Doris Uzoka-Anite
Fmr. Commissioner Imo state
Experience in Financial Markets
Nill
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Nkiru Onyejeocha
Fmr. Lawmaker
Master Degrees in International Affairs
Nill
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Shuaibu Abubakar
Lawmaker
Degree in Business Administration and Economics
Nill
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Tahir Mamman
Frm. Governorship Candidate Adamawa
SAN, VC Baze University
Minister of Education
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Lola Ade John
None
Information & Tech. expert
Nill
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Ahmed Tijani
Nil
Nil
Nill
Ishak Salako
Fmr. Commissioner of Health
Medical practitioner
Nill
The ICIR
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— Thompson Nsisongabasi