Buhari Unveils, Submits First Ministerial List to Senate, to
Retain Petroleum Portfolio
President Muhammadu
Buhari today sent the first ministerial list containing the names of the Group
Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr.
Ibe Kachikwu; former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola (SAN); former
Rivers Governor, Chibuike Amaechi; former Ekiti Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi;
and a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau (rtd.), as the
first batch of ministerial nominees to the Senate.
Kachikwu’s name on the list, confirmed information at
disposal that he may hold the double portfolio of Minister of State for
Petroleum Resources and GMD of NNPC, while Buhari will retain the post of
Minister of Petroleum Resources.
Buhari said: “I intend to remain the minister of petroleum
resources,” Buhari said in an interview on the sidelines of the annual meeting
of world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. A minister
of state would oversee the day-to-day running of the petroleum sector, he
revealed.
The ministerial list said to contain only 21 names, was
submitted to Senate President Bukola Saraki at 5 pm by the Chief of Staff to
the president, Alhaji Abba Kyari, who was accompanied by the Senior Special
Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang.
It was learnt that another list containing 16 additional names will be sent to the Senate soon.
Confirming receipt of the long-awaited list through a tweet
posted at 5.20 pm, Saraki said: “I can now confirm that I just received the list
of Ministerial nominees.”
Efforts made by journalists to access the list last night
proved abortive as Saraki’s media aide, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the list was
sealed and would not be opened till Tuesday when the Senate resumes plenary.
He said: “The President of the Senate did not even open the
envelope. The list is sealed and will remain sealed till Tuesday when he will
read it on the floor of the Senate."
It was thought authoritatively gathered that other names on
the list submitted to the Senate included the former Governor of Anambra State,
Senator Chris Ngige; a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief
Ogbonnaya Onu from Abia State; National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji
Lai Mohammed from Kwara State; Senator Udo Udoma (SAN) from Akwa Ibom State;
and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), Ms. Amina J. Mohammed.
Others include the APC governorship candidate in Taraba
State, Senator Aisha Alhassan; former National Legal Adviser of the defunct
Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Alhaji Abubakar Malami (SAN) from Kebbi
State; Senator Hadi Abubakar Sirika from Katsina State; a governorship
candidate in Oyo State, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu; and the immediate past
Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State, Ms. Kemi Adeosun.
Before the list was sent yesterday, the Senate had adjourned
plenary to next Tuesday after waiting in vain for the names of ministerial
nominees from the presidency.
The tension caused by the wait in the Senate resulted in
some mild drama when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus protested the
failure of the president to submit the ministerial list as promised.
Leading the protest, Senate Minority Leader, Godswill
Akpabio, recalled that the APC-led government had promised to submit the list
to the Senate before the end of the month.
But Deputy Senate Leader, Ibn Na'Allah, countered Akpabio,
saying the Senate President’s office would be open till midnight and since
midnight was still several hours away, it was too early to conclude that the
president had failed to submit the list as promised.