With the submission of 35 ministerial nominees to the Senate yesterday by the President Umar Musa Yar’Adua administration, one name on the list that has set tongues wagging is that of Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, former deputy governor Central Bank of Nigeria.

P.M.News gathered authoritatively that Usman has been pencilled down as Minister of Finance to succeed his wife, Nenadi Usman who was former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s finance minister.

Nenadi, who was former minister of State for Finance, was appointed Minister of Finance after the exit of Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okongo-Iweala as Minister of Finance in 2005.

Most observers are, however, finding it difficult understand the rationale for making Nenadi’s husband the new finance minister when his wife had served in the position previously.

“It is a case of the husband taking over from the wife,” an AC chieftain in Abuja jocularly told P.M.News this morning while going through the list of ministerial nominees.

It was gathered that Usman was specifically asked to resign from the Central Bank so that he could be appointed Minister of Finance.

Sources in the Finance Ministry in Abuja confided in P.M.News that Usman’s nomination as minister was all part of the game plan to continue Obasanjo’s monetary policies and reforms in the financial sector, spearheaded by the Central Bank Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo.

It was learnt that throughout Nenadi’s tenure as Minister of Finance, both Soludo and her husband, Shamsudeen, were actually dictating policies for the ministry to be implemented by Nenadi, who read Geography in the university.

Soludo, it was learnt, was the de facto, albeit in disguise, Minister of Finance, after the exit of Okonjo-Iweala.

The removal of Okonjo-Iweala it was learnt, was also a conspiracy between Soludo, Usman and Nenadi.

Latching on Obasanjo’s complaint of intransigence and disobedience levelled against Okonjo-Iweala, the trio were said to have conspired and convinced the former president to remove Okonjo-Iweala from the Finance Ministry.

With the appointment of Usman as the Finance Minister designate, it is expected that the tight fiscal policies of the Obasanjo administration which has impoverished millions of Nigerians would continue.

Usman, former Managing director of NAL Merchant Bank and Soludo were said to be avowed supporters of IMF-sponsored bitter pills of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), recommended for developing countries by the financial institution.

SAP was disguised as reforms by the Obasanjo administration to privatise all public enterprises and prune down the number of banks in the country from 89 to 25.

KAI NIGERIAN NEWS PAPER GOT TO LOVE THEM


http://www.thenewsng.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3041

Alongside the freedom of information bill (FOI), a bill should also be enacted to ensure that any editor who releases concoction of lies to missinform the public should be prosecuted.

PM News is simply getting reckless.

I've been saying this for a long time, but no one seems to want to join with me on this crusade, but I like the challenge. I will go after this media houses once i start practicing, they will make me rich one day. There has to be a law against deformation and slander in a nation of 140 Million people.

imagine if they had all this information before now, why are they seezing this moment to publish this mess? why not say it when the former minister resigned? Where is the moral and social; ethics?

This is actually the type of investigative reporting that ought to be encouraged. I hope no one is suggesting that they disclose confidential sources. That will definitely kill the media's role as a watchdog. The government should come out and refute the allegations or even sue the NEWS magazine if they have a cause of action.

what is this 'allegation'? that a deputy director of the CBN, as well as being a PhD is being pencilled down for the Ministry of Finance?

I would think that would be a case of round peg in round hole, but leave it to some mischievous journalists to try to put a negative spin on it.

I wonder whether we'll see this crass type of journalism if Hillary wins the US presidency, but this time 'Wife Replaces Husband' *hisses*

@ blackmamba there is nothing 'investigative' about this journalism, the list is already public for all to see, they simply wanted to sell a few more copies by putting some extra spin on the story. the bottom line is: Dr. Usman is more than qualified to hold a ministerial post, whether or not his wife was.

BlackMamba:

This is actually the type of investigative reporting that ought to be encouraged. I hope no one is suggesting that they disclose confidential sources. That will definitely kill the media's role as a watchdog. The government should come out and refute the allegations or even sue the NEWS magazine if they have a cause of action.

Investigative journalism should be encouraged in nigeria BUT certainly not this type seriously

Is soludo more effective in the CBN or as a finance minsiter? anyone. . .It would better if the second in command moves up the CBN and he moves to the ministry

You want our Federal Government to refute the words of PM NEWS. God forbid. If they do not over step their boundaries, I'll pay them no heed. If they do, I'll sue for N20million. That is about a month profit. Next time they'll know.

The only good thing that has happened to the life of PM NEWS is that they were the first newspaper to report Abacha's death and that is because every other paper that day was printed before Abacha died.

These days, PM NEWS goes to steal nude pictures of young Nigerian girls from their laptops and use those as headlines. It's a shame!

Before u get fired up over a non issue, Nenadi Usman is not married to Dr.Shamsudeen Usman. It is not investigative journalism, it is inventive journalism. There is absolutely no truth to the matter. Its shocking the length to which these propagandist newspaper journalists will go to churn out reports on a daily basis. Usman is a fairly common name in the North, just because they share the same last name doesn't mean they r married. I personally know Dr. Shamsu and I reiterate he is not married to Nenadi!

PM news= the News< the nation= tinubu ojuyobo , maybe they have their candidate for the ministry

Kazaure:

Before u get fired up over a non issue, Nenadi Usman is not married to Dr.Shamsudeen Usman. It is not investigative journalism, it is inventive journalism. There is absolutely no truth to the matter. Its shocking the length to which these propagandist newspaper journalists will go to churn out reports on a daily basis. Usman is a fairly common name in the North, just because they share the same last name doesn't mean they r married. I personally know Dr. Shamsu and I reiterate he is not married to Nenadi!

My brother, God bless you for that clarification. Wish more people would actually take time out to confirm if a thing is true, instead of swallowing every rumour they hear!

Couple weeks ago I was speaking about how this media are just out for a front page caption. they don't care who they destroyed. People were saying i was bias. I'm glad we can all reason and see how unreliable they can be.

KAI. I love Nigeria. No place like home, and that will be the end of this mess? how can you now repair the damage that has been done? some people are not opportune to read this useless apology they are now uttering.

If the NEWS screwed up their reporting they should be made to pay if you can prove defamation in court. Remamber they're public figures and are held to a different standard in defamation cases. The same law that will make them pay if they're liable protects and emboldens the media as a watchdog.

when will all this political recycling stop in this country? incompetents running the country like a family biz. fathers to sons, fathers to daughters, brother to brother, husbands to wives, and now wife to husband. we need a bloody revolution asap.

If the guy is more qualified than his wife, why not?

Ibime:

If the guy is more qualified than his wife, why not?

carmelily:

when will all this political recycling stop in this country? incompetents running the country like a family biz. fathers to sons, fathers to daughters, brother to brother, husbands to wives, and now wife to husband. we need a bloody revolution asap.

What are u guys tripping over? Shamisdeen Usman is not the husband of Nenandi Usman and besides the post is more than a year old. the issue had been over-flogged. Though i don't personally like the man as a min of Finance. i think he is on different mission.
As for The News, all the thrash they put together have fallen like a pack of cards. Soludo and Usman aren't buddies. what happned to redenomination, AFC and other thing s that Soludo have done but Usman would not allow to fly?

Tell you he no know anything.

I've been saying this for a long time, but no one seems to want to join with me on this crusade, but I like the challenge. I will go after this media houses once i start practicing, they will make me rich one day. There has to be a law against deformation and slander in a nation of 140 Million people.

Mamajama,
what are u going to start practicing? in case u are planing to be a lawyer, i would want to inform you here that u are a disaster to humanity. truth and lies in governance are part of their role as watchdog or oposition parties and these moves in moves cases are designed to make govt seat up.

your father obj closed down AIT when they reported live events in the senate over the third term agenda and told nigeria that he does not read nigerian papers. he does not read nigerian papers yet he never seize to make his negative prophesies through.

what about CNN? nigerian adverts on CNN was stopped when the aired the real situation in niger delta. a clear conscience fears no accusation. if any govt is clean, why are they afraid of the press if they have not committed anything wrong.

in the usa, there is freedom of press and no one can tell me that everything the press say there is truth. it takes the understanding of all parties to note that they are all parts of the govt.

any country that raise a thing in your form as a lawyer will not only regret but shld be ashamed of her qualities.

the madness of nigerian leaders is worth accepting anything from the press as truth. after all nothing is impossible in nigeria. if anyone is surposed to be angry in nigeria, it shld be the press for the humuliattions it has suffered in the hands of the govt. the only good thing the so called rulers want in nigeria is when the press praise them for nothing. when the press show obj open power plants and car companies that never existed in life.

we have a grouped evil rulers and the sooner they accept their failures and get ready to make amends the better for them instead of sitting back to push the blames to the press or okada riders in nigeria.

@ poster (rumor monger)

Pls get ur facts right before posting false and misleading info.
Shamsudeen is in no way related or married to Nenadi.

why shud anyone be suprised when two saraki children are fighting over who should be governor of kwara state

I was also highly surprised reading this. Anyway no need to add my own. The truth has been said: Shamsudeen is not the husband of Nenadi

This is Nigeria, the Land that anything can happen and nobody ask questions