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The Long Wait For Buhari's Cabinet by sayyid(m): 7:29am On Sep 09, 2015 |
Since he was elected in March, President
Muhammadu Buhari has been working hard to
choose those he would work with to deliver his
campaign promises, at least, in the next four
years.
The task of choosing ministers is never an easy
one in Nigeria or in any other parts of the world
for political and technical reasons.
Considering that Buhari was elected on the
platform of the All Progressives Congress, he is
duty-bound to protect the interest of the party
that got him to power at all times. This is
because he has become the leader of the party.
He must deal with crises that may arise from
within the party. His choice must also take into
consideration the fact that there will be elections
in the next four years.
In choosing ministers who are, more often than
not, party members, the President must identify
potential conflict that his appointments may
cause so that that party’s unity is preserved
ahead of the next general elections. In doing
this, the President should look out for persons
with a history of party loyalty. In Nigerian
politics, people with long years of party loyalty
are rare. Since the President is the leader of the
party, he must defend the party ideology and
manifestoes, by appointing party men and
women into his cabinet for the formulation of
policies, guidance and implementations.
The second factor the President must consider
is that apart from being just the party leader, he
is the father of the nation. In some cases, he
may want to look outside the party for some
appointments when it appears no party member
is thoroughly suited for a particular portfolio. He
can find loyal technocrats to head ministries like
Finance, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Education, and
Science and Technology that must not be left for
‘professional politicians’.
The 1999 Constitution contains a provision
known as the Federal Character principle, under
Section 14(3) which states, “…to promote
national unity and also to command national
loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no
predominance of persons from few states or a
few ethnic or other groups in government or in
any of its agencies”. This simply means that he
must appoint ministers for at least two-thirds of
the 36 states of the federation. This is to ensure
that all ethnic groups are fully represented in the
administration.
Apart from the constitutional provision,
appointing people from different geopolitical
zones of the country is just another votes-
winning strategy the President may want to
employ. It cannot be assumed that the party or
the President will not be interested in
consolidating on covering more areas or zones in
the next election. The administration must be
able to at least have a fair representation across
the country.
There are certain instances when the President
appoints some cabinet members due to special
needs. For example, the Ministry of Niger Delta,
is to be headed by a person from the Niger Delta
by the law that created that ministry. The office
of the Attorney-General of the Federation must
be occupied by a professional lawyer. The
Minister of Women Affairs cannot be a male. The
President must look for persons with these
qualifications to occupy these positions.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the choice
of the President’s cabinet will in no small ways
make or mar the lives of Nigerians at least in the
next four years. This is why the President must
display deliberate wisdom in his choice of his
cabinet this month as he promised some days
ago in Ghana. www.punchng.com/opinion/the-long-wait-for-buharis-cabinet/ |
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