Afraid of backlash in PDP, National
Assembly
BY VIVIAN ONYEBUKWA
Ministers and presidential aides may
get an unpleasant New Year gift next
week, as President Goodluck
Jonathan may dissolve the Federal
Executive Council on December 31,
2013.
Daily Sun gathered that Jonathan
had been contemplating sacking the
cabinet, so that fresh blood would be
injected for the remaining part of the
administration, which would
terminate on May 29, 2015.
Competent sources revealed that in
the shake-up, ministers, who have
political ambition in 2015 would be
asked to go as well as others whose
performance was considered below
average. Some of the minister, who
would be retained, would be assigned
new portfolios.
It was gathered that Jonathan was
planning to constitute a cabinet, in
the New Year, that would have a mix
of technocrats and strong politicians,
who would help him in his
transformation agenda.
Sources revealed, however, that
Jonathan was wary of the events in
the ruling Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) and the National Assembly,
which had, in the last couple of
weeks, witnessed defection of
members to the opposition All
Progressives Congress (APC).
Daily Sun gathered that in as much
as the president wants to sack the
cabinet, he is afraid of perceived
political backlash this may have on
the PDP, which had suffered defection
of its members in the last couple of
weeks.
Five governors of the PDP had
recently defected to APC. They are
Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Rabiu
Kwankwaso (Kano), Abdulfatah
Ahmed (Kwara), Aliyu Wamakko
(Sokoto) and Murtala Nyako
(Adamawa).
Last week, 37 PDP members in the
House of Representatives also
defected to APC. The lawmakers are
mainly from Kano, Adamawa, Rivers,
Kwara and Sokoto.
Jonathan, had, last September fired
nine ministers, in his first move to
reshuffle the cabinet.
The affected ministers in the shake-
up were: Shamsudeen Usman
(National Planning); Ita Okon
(Science and Technology); Hadiza
Mailafia (Environment); Ruqayat
Rufai (Education); Zainab Kunchi
(Power, state); Olugbenga Ashiru
(Foreign Affairs); Ama Pepple (Lands)
Buka Tijani (Agriculture, state) and
Olusola Obada (Defence, state).
The Information Minister, Labaran
Maku, said President Jonathan
expressed satisfaction and
appreciation to the sacked ministers
for the excellent ways they had
handled their offices, and that he
assured them that he would engage
them in other national assignments
whenever opportunities arise.
Maku, while briefing newsmen, on the
sack of the ministers, stated that
Jonathan had promised to forward a
new list of minister nominees to the
Senate for confirmation.
He had announced that the president
had mandated the Minister of State
for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwiliri
to supervise the activities of the
ministry, while the Minister of State
for Education, Mr. Wike, would
oversee the office of the sacked
minister.
He also announced that Jonathan
had appointed Minister for Niger
Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe to
oversee the activities of the Ministry
of Environment, while Minister of
Solid Mineral would look after the
Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban
Development.
In the same vein, Minister of
Communication Technology was
mandated to supervise the Ministry of
Science and Technology, while Maku
would oversee the Ministry of
Defence. Minister of State for Works
was appointed supervisor for Ministry
of National Planning.
The sack of the minister came barely
one month after Jonathan made
public procedure through which
minister could be rated, in what was
known as Performance Contract
Agreement.
He had stated: “I read all kinds of
thing in the media, that the president
wants to assess the ministers, so that
he would know who would go and
who would stay. That is not the
purpose of this. We would have done
it probably in the first week when we
came on board, but the key thing is
that we have given ourselves points
that we think we will get at; we
believe that if we get at those points
or even if we achieve 70 per cent of
that, at least it will be better off for
our own country.”
One month after this, nine ministers
were fired, amid speculations that it
was prompted by the crisis rocking
the PDP. Some of the sacked
ministers were believed to be loyal to
seven aggrieved PDP governors, who
had walked out at the special
national convention of the PDP and
set up a parallel exco.
http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/jonathan-may-dissolve-cabinet-dec-31/

if he like let him employ obama coupled with david cameron. 2015 will be the end for him.

before you quote me, am igbo

His New Year gift is always somehow! Anyways, let it happen, so that a problem would occur over there. People are ready to do anti-party.

talk ia cheap....and its meant for fools......
Action is expensive......and its meant for the wise...
Carry go Gej 2019...
Proudly Anioma

If he likes, he may appoint PEJ as minister of information, or Bamangar tukur as minister of Youth and sports.
One certain thing is that Gej is going back to Otuoke in 2015.

start with stealer oduah.
her's is overdue.

how can i apply too, abeg i for like the emm petroleum ministry. i hv 10yrs experience in filling station, i alsopossess the ability to do the thng without being caught. am intelligent n smart also very LOYAL. thnx

o

good move if it is for the forwardness of the polity.

Can he provide 150 thousand megawatts of electricity.

k

We Dnt Giv 2 Fûcks!!

He should dissolve, reconstitute and upgrade his fish brain before dissolving the cabinet.

Anxiously waiting to see fate of that Oyel minister!