PRESIDENT BUHARI’S NEXT CABINET

President Buhari’s next cabinet

With the swearing-in of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term tenure, the next great expectations from Nigerians will be to see the characters that will constitute the cabinet of the president for the next four years.

Already, the President has assured that unlike what happened during his first tenure, Nigerians will not have to wait six months this time around to see the list of his cabinet members. While the President will be expected to keep to his promise on the early appointment of the ministers, the quality, virtues and moral standing of those to be appointed, especially as related to the character of the government itself must be important considerations in making that decision.

Of course, the issue of competence cannot also be waived aside. Many Nigerians believed that some of the ministers in the first term cabinet of the President were not only ‘deadwood’ in terms of performance, but in character and moral standing, were the very antithesis of the anti-corruption stance of the administration, and dark stains on the widely acknowledged integrity of the President himself.

Certainly, the linkage of some members of the outgone cabinet to National Youth Service Corps Certificate scandal, allegations of corruption and ego-driven political struggles back in their homes state to the detriment of their duties in Abuja were definitely out of sync with all the anti-corruption and purposeful bent of the Buhari.

There are already suggestions in the public space on how the President should choose his next set of ministers. To ensure that the country is availed the opportunity of using its vast and rich human resources for its development without limitations of political affiliations, some have argued that the President should look beyond his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in constituting his cabinet this time around.

But some have also argued that the President cannot shut out party chieftains who traversed the nooks and crannies of the country to ensure he was re-elected for a second term.  Indeed, chieftains of All Progressives Congress, APC, are already positioning themselves for appointment into the cabinet, using different subterfuges.

But even at that,  the onus on patriotic members of the ruling party who understand what their party stands for to as much as possible help the President make the right choices. It is in this vein that I viewed the recent intervention by a pro- Buhari leadership and integrity advocacy group on the kind of person(s) that should represent Akwa Ibom in the President’s new cabinet as commendable.

The group, Akwa Ibom Integrity and Servant Leadership Culture Initiative had in a letter to the President, dated May 24, cautioned him against appointing Senator Godswill Akpabio or any other personality with corruption charges into his cabinet for the second term.

In the letter, entitled “Ministerial Appointments: Why Appointing Akpabio May be Counter Productive”, signed by its national coordinator, Dr. Asuquo  Edidem  Etim, the group had warned the President on why the former governor should not be on his list of consideration for appointment as minister.  The group cited the profligacy with which the former Governor ran Akwa Ibom State for eight years as one of the reasons for the warning.

It also rightly warned that the former governor’s “corruption case with the EFCC has the potential of exploding into national embarrassment and credibility question for your government, should he be made a minister in a government that prides itself as anti-graft champion. We wish to remind you of your famous words, that ‘if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us’.”

The group, which seems to be aligned to the APC, also spoke about the potential of Akpabio to become even a more destabilising factor, especially, to the Akwa Ibom chapter of the ruling party if he is more empowered with a ministerial position.

It’s also apt to acknowledge that the State Working Committee of the APC Akwa Ibom State has disowned the group and its leader which it accused of engaging in “disparaging campaign against l Akpabio and “evil fireworks meant to generate bad blood and disaffection in the party. In the same vein, a chieftain of Akwa Ibom APC,  Mr Umana Okon Umana, who is also the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority, has also disowned the group as well as their recommendation that he should be appointed as minister to represent the state in President Buhari’s new cabinet.

(TheNationNewspaper)