*Screening begins Monday
*New ministries to be created
*More ministers to be named
Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has explained the rationale behind the President’s decision not to attach specific portfolios to the list of ministerial nominees submitted to the Senate on Thursday.
Gbajabiamila disclosed this to State House correspondents on Thursday at the Presidential Villa.
According to him, while attaching portfolios would have been a welcomed approach, President Tinubu chose to maintain flexibility in assigning roles within the government.
“For me, that would have been one way to go about it, it would have been a welcomed development. As good as that sounds, it straitjackets the President to pigeonhole one person in an office or the other,” Gbajabiamila explained.
He further elaborated on the potential challenges associated with attaching specific portfolios to the nominees.
He said President Tinubu wanted to retain the freedom to assess the nominees’ suitability for particular roles and, if necessary, adjust their assignments to ensure optimal functionality within the government.
“What happens then if you change your mind? Do you then bring the person back for screening again, because the President is at liberty to change his mind,” he added.
He emphasised that the President and his team were currently reviewing the nominees and their prospective portfolios while the screening process is underway.
According to him, this approach allows them to carefully consider how each nominee’s skills, expertise, and background align with the various ministerial positions.
He reassured that the President had meticulously vetted each nominee, ensuring they possess the necessary qualifications to contribute effectively to the country’s progress.
“The first step that he has done is that these are people that can work wherever you put them, except in specialized fields like Attorney-General and what have you. But in the main, in most of the portfolios, he believes most of them can fit in anywhere,” Gbajabiamila stated.
Gbajabiamila revealed that President Tinubu intended to restructure some ministries and may even establish new stand-alone ministries.
He said this move adds to the complexity of attaching specific portfolios beforehand, as the reorganization process might necessitate reshuffling roles.
While the National Assembly’s approval was still pending, expectations are that the nominees will hit the ground running even before their formal confirmation.
Gbajabiamila revealed that some individuals have been actively contributing advice to the President, even in the anticipation of their confirmation, as there is no time to waste in the pursuit of the government’s goals.
“I’m sure there will be those who will be working behind the scenes, giving him advice, you know, even now, before confirmation, in anticipation of confirmation because there’s no time to waste,” Gbajabiamila stated.
Meanwhile, the Senate will, on Monday, commence the screening of the ministerial nominees submitted to it by President Bola Tinubu on Thursday.
This is just as indications emerged that the President will create new ministries and form his full cabinet in two weeks.
Speaking shortly after the names of 28 nominees sent to the federal lawmakers were read on the floor by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, the Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti South), said the Upper Chamber had suspended all its activities to commence the screening immediately.
Adaramodu said, “Screening will commence on Monday. We have suspended all the rules to accommodate the screening of the nominees.
“We were supposed to proceed on our vacation today (Thursday) but it has been suspended for this screening. We are starting the screening on Monday. We are not going to allocate time to nominees to talk.
“We will start by 11am on Monday and other days at 10am. We are ready to sit all day to screen them, with no limitation of hours. We won’t even time them. We would listen to them reel out their blueprint to us. The screening would be done in the presence of Nigerians.”
11 states missing
Although the constitution prescribes that the President shall appoint at least a minister from each of the 36 states of the federation, the list sent by the Tinubu contained names of nominees from 25 states, leaving out 11 states.
The states not yet covered are Lagos, Kano, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Gombe, Kebbi, Kogi, Osun, Plateau, Yobe and Zamfara.
Meanwhile, Bauchi, Cross River and Katsina States got two slots each.
New ministries coming
Meanwhile, Gbajabiamila said Nigerians should expect the naming of new ministries as President unveils another list of 13 ministerial nominees “in the coming days.”
“Mr President intends to separate portfolios or restructure the ministries in such a way that you might be hearing of new ministries that were not standalone ministries before,” the Chief of Staff to the President told State House Correspondents hours after he submitted the ministerial list to the Senate.
Explaining how the names on the list emerged, Gbajabiamila said, “Mr President took his time to sift through those names. He dissected those names with a fine-tooth comb.
“That’s what you have seen. Everyone, I believe, of the persons on that list is worth being on that list.
“But I hope we haven’t missed anything that would have necessitated any name not being on that list.”
He explained that the names were sent to the Senate without specific portfolios attached to give the President enough flexibility to decide who handles what portfolio.
He said, “I like the idea of attaching portfolios because it makes it necessary for the Senate to know exactly what you’re asking and looking for.
“As good as that sounds, it straitjackets the President to pigeonhole one person in an office or the other. What happens if he changes his mind? Do you then bring the person back for screening again? This is because the President is at liberty to change his mind.
“But for now, it’s been thought wise that we stick to the tradition of sending the names and then while the screening processes are going on, it allows Mr President and his team to look at the portfolios and the characters and see how they fit.”
Gbajabiamila explained that President Tinubu is sure that all the nominees can “fit in anywhere” except for specialised offices such as the Attorney-General.
On the remaining nominees, he said the “12 or maybe 13 will be forwarded to the Senate in the coming days.”
He revealed that the cabinet should be fully formed and functioning within the next two weeks.
“Work should start in earnest for them in the next week or two because I don’t see the Senate wasting too much time in the confirmation, not because they’re not going to do a thorough job, they will do a thorough job.
“But they will balance it with the knowledge that in this time that we are in, time is of the essence.”
The 28 Ministerial nominees and their geo-political zones
North-East
Yusuf Maitama Tuggar – Bauchi
Ali Pate –Bauchi
Abubakar Kyari – Borno
Sani Abubakar Danladi – Taraba
North-West
Badaru Abubakar – Jigawa
Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai – Kaduna
Ahmed Dangiwa – Katsina
Hannatu Musawa – Katsina
Bello Muhammad Goronyo – Sokoto
North Central
Lateef Fagbemi – Kwara
Muhammad Idris – Niger
Iman Suleiman Ibrahim – Nasarawa
Joseph Utsev – Benue
South-West
Olubunmi Tunji Ojo – Ondo
Dele Alake – Ekiti
Olawale Edun – Ogun
Waheed Adebayo Adelabu – Oyo
South-South
Nyesom Wike – Rivers
Abubakar Momoh – Edo
Betta Edu – Cross River
Ekperikpe Ekpo – Akwa Ibom
Stella Okotette – Delta
John Enoh – Cross River
South-East
Uche Nnaji – Enugu
Doris Aniche Uzoka – Imo
David Umahi – Ebonyi
Nkeiruka Onyejocha – Abia
Uju Kennedy Ohaneye – Anambra
