New Faces, Known Associates That May Make Buhari’s Cabinet List

In the past few days, there have been speculations that the president’s ministerial list had been forwarded to the Department of State Security Services (DSS) for screening of the nominees, a ritual that usually precede the dispatch of the nominees’ list to the Senate for screening.

President Buhari is currently facing the hard task of choosing his ministers, having raised the bar on the calibre of those that would make his cabinet list with his avowed determination not to have anyone with a whiff of corruption in his cabinet. But his strong stance against corruption, which had been widely applauded, may have created a dilemma for him as he juggles the names on a list which has kept close to his chest.

Many of the people that had been touted in the past as likely nominees have had their integrity and character savagely impeached by negative news reports on their stewardship in government or in private enterprise, prompting an endless search for saints and lately, the prospect of picking members of his cabinet from among known associates.

President Buhari, according to sources, has been weighing the option of either going for safety (appointing those whose character and competence he can vouch for, based on long association) or novelty (new faces with impeccable credentials recommended to him by some APC leaders).

As the nation awaits the list of President Muhammadu Buhari‘s ministers , which is expected to be released before the end of the month, many of people are being considered for slots comprising of technocrats and politicians include former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola SAN, prominent lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana SAN, former Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Pastor Tunde Bakare, former Vice President of the World Bank Africa Division and minister under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili; former Minister under late President Umaru Yar’Adua, Mr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma; Chief of Staff to Governor Nasiru El-rufai, Hadiza Bala Usman; former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi; and former Sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi.

Also being considered for slots in the President’s cabinet are former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, who is currently a senator; Senator Chris Ngige; defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) former lawyer Uba Malami; APC scribe Tijani Tumsah; Malam Adamu Adamu; former Chief of Army Staff and close associate of the President, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau; former Lagos Finance Commisioner, Mr. Wale Edun; former Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru; member of the Faculty of Lagos Business School, Dr. Doyin Salami; and former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President and Action Congress of Nigeria Governorship Candidate in Ondo State, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu.

While Dambazau is being considered for the defence portfolio, it was gathered that the President was considering picking either Falana, whom he is said to admire for his doggedness in the pursuit of justice and rule of law, or Malami, who has been close to him since their days in CPC, for the Attorney General slot.

Smarting from the delisting of Nigeria from JP Morgan Chase’ Emerging Market Government Bond Index, not a few believe that the President must urgently consider putting in place an economic team to balance Central Bank of Nigeria’s fiscal team. Names like Ezekwesili, Omoigui-Okauru, Edun and Salami are said to have been slated to constitute the President’s economic team. Ezekwesili may however head the economic team because of her pedigree, having been a player in the global economic stage as a key official of the World Bank, and the fact that the current situation whereby the country would need to constructively engage international financial institutions would require a seasoned global player with valuable contacts.