20 Governors Yet To Inaugurate Cabinet As Buhari Swears In Ministers Today

Ahead of their inauguration today, President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, charged ministers-designate on the delivery of quick results, saying four years is not a very long time.
However, 20 out of the 29 state governors elected in March and also sworn-in on May 29, are yet to constitute their cabinets.

Buhari spoke, yesterday, at the end of a two-day retreat organised for the 43 ministers-designate at the State House, Abuja.

Today’s inauguration of ministers came nearly three months after his swearing in on May 29, and six months after his election.

The retreat was attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase, and APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, among others.

The ministers would be sworn-in today at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
At the retreat, Buhari told the ministers-designate that working collaboratively and purposefully will enable them to achieve quicker results, recognizing that four years would come to pass within a short time.

“For the new ministers, make sure you engage and benefit from the experience of the older ministers and former governors in the cabinet.

“These last two days have been very instructive for me personally, because I have had the opportunity to know many of you, the new ministers-designate. I was also pleased to see that you have all equally enjoyed debating and deliberating on the various challenges before us over the next four years,” he said.

He noted that majority of Nigerians were poor, and anxiously hoping for a better life.

Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina said the ministers-designate will be sworn in today after which they will be allocated portfolios by Mr President.

“Following the swearing-in, each minister will be given a mandate, based on the assigned ministry, and which will spell out priorities, deliverables and timelines,” Adesina said.

“In addition, a robust monitoring and evaluation framework will also be put in place to track the implementation of all policies and programmes over the next four years,” he said.



Governors that are yet to form cabinet

Daily Trust reports that 20 governors including newly elected and those who won a second term are yet to inaugurate their cabinets.

The governors include those of Ogun, Jigawa, Abia, Kebbi, Taraba, Zamfara, Kwara, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Kano, Niger, Cross River, Enugu and Imo.

Governors of Katsina, Oyo, and Rivers have appointed one or two commissioners while in some states, the governors have forwarded names to the state house of assembly.

Only eight governors including those of Benue, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Kaduna, Delta, Sokoto and Ebonyi have inaugurated their cabinets.

In Ogun, Governor Dapo Abiodun has kept stakeholders guessing over those that would be part of his cabinet.

Apart from the appointment of the Secretary to the State Government, Tokunbo Talabi and Chief of Staff, Shuaib Salisu and a few aides, Abiodun has not nominated anybody as commissioner yet.

The development, which keeps tongues wagging, has been attributed to the diverse political interests the governor is expected to capture in the would-be cabinet.

Daily Trust gathered that Abiodun’s delayed cabinet has been drawing criticism from stakeholders who are not comfortable with his “slow approach to governance.”

Speaking with newsmen recently on the delayed cabinet, Abiodun said he is shopping for “capable hands” who he intends to appoint into his cabinet to help drive his vision for the state.
Similarly in Jigawa State, Governor Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar is also yet to constitute his cabinet.

The rumour in the state is that the governor would not constitute the cabinet until around December. It was said that the delay was a deliberate plan to save some revenue for the state.

The governor has also not appointed any aides whose process of appointment does not require the approval of the state house of assembly, even though there are few political appointees that have not been relieved.

The Secretary to the State Government, Abdulkadir Fanini, was also reported to have been reappointed even though there was no official statement to that effect.

In Abia, only the commissioner for Information and Strategy and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice have been appointed by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State is also yet to appoint commissioners and there is no explanation as to why he is delaying forming his cabinet.

In Kebbi State, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu is yet to inaugurate his cabinet, though government sources said he would soon unveil members of his new cabinet as several meetings were held at the government house in Birnin Kebbi in the past few weeks.

There were speculations last week that many of those who were made commissioners during his first tenure are still being listed to be part of the new cabinet.

A source told our correspondent that some of those expected to be on the list of the yet to be constituted cabinet were contacted last week.
They were asked to take their curricula vitae to the office of the chief of staff to the governor and the secretary to the state government.

Zamfara State’s Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle has not also nominated his cabinet members yet.

The Director General, Press Affairs in the government house, Alhaji Yusuf Idris, told Daily Trust that the cabinet list is yet to be submitted to the state house of assembly. He did not specifically tell our correspondent when the cabinet members would be nominated.

The situation is the same in Kwara State where Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is also yet to constitute his cabinet members that will assist him in piloting the affairs of state.

The governor had however sent a letter to the state house of assembly seeking for approval to appoint some special advisers which was granted before the Sallah break.

Surprisingly, Abdulrazaq has not named the assistants. This has generated a lot of discussion in the state with observers expressing the suspicion that the governor is being controlled by some people, hence the delay in the appointment of commissioners and other aides.

Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has so far appointed only one commissioner, Barrister El-Marzuk Ahmad, who has since resumed at the Ministry of Justice.
Ahmad’s name was sent to the assembly and cleared before Masari was sworn in for his second term.

Similarly, 12 weeks since his inauguration, Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong is yet to form his cabinet. The governor however made his first appointment on July 29th when he appointed Makut Simon Macham as Director of Press Affairs, Governor’s Office.

The governor had dissolved the State Executive Council on the midnight of 28th May, less than 24 hours to his swearing in for a second term in office.

He however mandated the State Attorney General and the Acting Secretary to the State Government, Richard Tokma, to remain in office pending the reconstitution of a new cabinet.

Also in Nasarawa, Governor Abdullahi Sule has not nominated anybody yet as potential cabinet member/commissioner.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is yet to constitute his full cabinet three months after his second term inauguration.

The governor had few weeks after his inauguration appointed a secretary to the state government and two commissioners including that of finance and justice.

The governor at a recent function in Port Harcourt said he will be very careful in selecting those that will work with him.