President Buhari’s New Cabinet and The Men Coming In

John Alechenu of The Punch examines the likely shape of the Buhari cabinet and takes a look at individuals being considered to play a part in the government that Nigerians expect so much from.


After the euphoria of the May 29 inauguration ceremony, President Muhammadu Buhari and the governing APC are now faced with the task of delivering on promises they made to Nigerians.

Prominent among the promises contained in the “Change” slogan of the APC is the revamping of the nation's economy and the security of lives and property of citizens.
To deliver on these promises, Buhari must first select a team that will give life to his vision for building a new Nigeria that will serve everybody.

Enormous as these challenges appear, the governing party has declared that it has the capacity to frontally deal with these and other problems requiring urgent government attention.

It has been one week since the inauguration, but the President has only announced three appointments. They are: Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser, (Media and Publicity), Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity) and Malam Lawal Kazaure, as the State Chief of Protocol.

He has, however, asked for and obtained approval from the Senate to appoint 15 advisers to assist him.

Many Nigerians are eager to have him unveil members of the Federal Executive Council who will head the various ministries.

President Buhari had earlier announced his decision to move away from the practice where governors literarily picked ministers for the President.

He said in a media interview, “I have been around long enough to know people that I can approach for things like that… Deliberately, we will look for competent people, dedicated and experienced to head ministries and, of course, there will be schedules for ministers and we will expect them to fill them.

“Certainly, there is a lot to do but we are hoping that we‘ll get good people to be in charge of ministries who can apply themselves to their responsibilities so that in no time Nigerians would begin to see the difference.”

The search for “good people” has reached an advanced stage and some names have begun to make the rounds as possible picks.

Buhari has been holding series of meetings within and outside the country to feel the pulse of the leadership as well as competing interests within and outside the party to come to a compromise.

National Chairman of the APC Chief John Odieghe-Oyegun, confirmed this to journalists in Abuja.

In a veiled reference to ongoing consultations over ministerial appointments, Odieghe-Oyegun, said, “All I can say is that, Mr. President is committed to carrying the party along in everything that he does and we are very grateful for that.

“He has always been like that, he has put the party in the front burner in all the things he has done at all times and he has continued to do that.”

In the interim, there are strong indications that several known faces, especially prominent members of the APC as well as technocrats from previous administrations will make the new cabinet.

Due to immense contributions of a former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, to the merger and the success of the APC in the 2015 general elections, he is expected to nominate at least three cabinet members.

Although the affected exact portfolios are still being kept under wraps, it was gathered that a Tinubu protégé, Mr. Wale Edun, is to play a key role in managing the nation’s finances.

Edun, a former Commissioner of Finance in Lagos State, is being considered to head the Ministry of Finance.

Deputy Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Olorunnibe Mamora, is expected to make the cut as a member of the Federal Executive Council.

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who is said to be very close to the President, is also expected to play a prominent cabinet role in the Buhari’s administration. His poss