Crisis looms over ministers’ list

[TGD]

 Indecisiveness on cabinet worries Nigerians

New ministries, organogram for Presidency  coming

INTENSE lobbying and intrigues over the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP's) allotment of political offices continued in Abuja yesterday as key party members earlier nominated for cabinet positions were dropped and replaced.

The portents are that if care is not taken, some state chapters of the PDP may implode over the eventual cabinet list

Amid this unfolding scenario, Nigerians are worried over the indecisiveness of the President in constituting his cabinet, especially opening himself up to intensive lobbying and a potential for picking less than the best and the brightest.

An interesting entrant into President Goodluck Jonathan's planned cabinet, according to PDP sources, is the party's Acting National Chairman, Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed. He was screened by the State Security Services (SSS) and the Police Criminal Investigation Department.

Jonathan was said to have requested a nominee from the North, who should be a member of the party for the office of the Defence Minister.

Bello, a former Communications Minister under former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration was said to have fit into this permutation and was consequently drafted.

His nomination may have however affected the fortune of the party's National Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, who had earlier made the list.

"Jonathan wanted a Minister of Defence from the North and he and the party agreed on the Acting National Chairman to fill the slot."

Meanwhile, because zoning is coming and the office of the national secretary may be zoned to the South West, according to sources, it was decided that the current secretary (Baraje) should be brought into the cabinet too. "But last minute's thought and counsel on what impression that would create that both the chairman and secretary are joining the cabinet, led to the withdrawal of his name," the source told The Guardian.

Bolaji Abdulahi, a journalist and the immediate past commissioner for education in Kwara State, who was also on the list of 10 earlier submitted by the state PDP leader, Dr. Bukola Saraki and the new governor, Abdulfatai Ahmed was promoted up.

The source said Baraje is now in consideration for other appointment.

According to him, governors serving and past are still powerful in the new dispensation, adding that the cabinet may be made up of a few professionals.

"Certainly party and other interest would still hold sway," he added.

Meanwhile, in Oyo State, the PDP has kicked against the reported nomination of former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, as minister, accusing him of working against the interest of the party in the last April polls.

In a statement made available to reporters in Ibadan and signed by the PDP Secretary e, Alhaji  Bashiru Akanbi, Folarin and some other aggrieved leaders of the party were accused of sabotaging the efforts of the party during the last general election.

The party urged Jonathan to disregard the nomination of Folarin and his sponsors and consider the interest of loyal and dutiful party members who contributed to the modest success of the party in the state during the last April polls.

Folarin in a swift reaction, said the opposition to his nomination was coming at a time when party members were busy reconciliation.

Folarin said:  "Akanbi and his paymasters should be asked why the President won in virtually all the states of the South West and the party sitting governors and others lost their positions to the opposition.  It only showed that something was wrong somewhere that was left un-addressed." The list also include the acting chairman of PDP, former PTDF executive secretary Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar, Abdullahi Idris Umar and former president National Council for women societies, Aagiya Zainab Maina

The list has already triggered crisis in some state branches of the ruling party. In Lagos, Imo, Anambra, Ondo, Oyo and Enugu the story is the same. For instance in Enugu state, while the Deputy Senate president favours a new entrant, the governor Sullivan Chime is favourably disposed to the re-nomination of Mrs Fidelia Njeze, In Anambra state, the PDP is against the supposed nomination of the former Minister of Information, Prof Dora Akunyili.

In Imo state, the Okigwe people who lost out in the governorship race wants the ministerial nominee to come from the zone. Already the former Deputy Governor Ada Okwuonu is reported to have been chosen.

Indications also emerged last night in Abuja that despite the seeming pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately constitute the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and appoint his other aides, the list of the Ministers will be submitted to the National Assembly next week.

Also, President Jonathan is still on its high-level consultations on the restructuring of The Presidency and realignment of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)  in line with the policy direction of the government.

And in line with the new policy direction, the number of Ministries will increase. This is to reduce the number of Ministers of State and avoid the situation where some Ministers of State play subordinate roles.

A source said last night that "the reason behind this is to ensure that Cabinet members who are constitutionally appointed from each of the 36 states have equal opportunity to the performance of their individual assignments without necessarily playing a Vice Minister role to another colleague."

"But that does not mean the office of ministers of state will cease to exist as some of the incoming ministers will be designated as such. But unlike before, such ministers of state will be directly answerable to the President and not their fellow Ministers. This is to avoid the lingering issue of senior and junior ministers, which has brought untold bitterness and bickering among Ministers. Such situation has slowed down the pace of development in the affected Ministries."

It has also emerged that not all the former ministers already screened by the SSS will make the list to be sent to the National Assembly for approval next week.

To the consternation of some former Ministers whose supporters are already celebrating, "some of those so far screened have been dropped by the President due to one reason or another. But new ones are being forwarded to the SSS for the routine and ongoing security check. So, those who have been celebrating in the media will get a rude shock as the final list of Ministers to be sent to the National Assembly will most likely rubbish previous media speculation on who will be reappointed or not."

A source said: "Contrary to insinuations that the President is unnecessarily delaying the composition of the cabinet and appointments of top aides, the President insist that there must be clear-cut duties for appointees before they are appointed in order to avoid duplication of functions. Already, a meeting that is expected to produce a new organogram continued Monday. It has been adjourned till Wednesday."

Part of the immediate change that will result from the new Presidency organogram will be the scrapping of the office of the Principal Secretary to the President. It is to be replaced by the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President. In addition, the functions of SGF are now to be well spelt out to avoid a clash with the duties of any principal aide to the President.

In addition, the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Foreign Relations "is to be strengthened to give it more bite towards Nigeria's quest for a more robust foreign policy that will centre around the better well-being for Nigerians and their businesses across the world."



Source: The Guardian.