LAGOS — PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s
assignment of portfolios to the ministers, who
resumed duties, yesterday, elicited mixed views
in the polity. While some hailed the distribution
of the ministries among the component parts of
the country and expressed optimism that the
team would drive the president’s change agenda,
others thought otherwise.
Indeed, the national leadership of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, took a swipe at
President Buhari, saying the portfolios given to
some of the ministers did not in any way inspire
confidence that the All Progressives Congress,
APC-led government wants to pursue change.
In a statement by its National Publicity
Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP, however,
urged the ministers to urgently settle down for
business and concentrate on the economy.
According to PDP, the present administration
has so far played heavily on what it termed,
dramatizing routine procedures and processes,
which was even glaring in the prolonged
swearing-in ceremony of the ministers.
Metuh said, “The much-expected assignment of
portfolios to the ministers did not inspire
confidence that there is indeed any change
being introduced in the system. With the
inauguration, the APC administration should fully
resolve the issues on the actual position of the
nation’s economy and the direction therein.
“Whereas President Muhammadu Buhari had
announced that the nation is bankrupt to the
extent he cannot pay his ministers, his new
Minister of Information had contradicted him
directly by stating how the government is
buoyant and ready to deploy $2.5 billion
infrastructure fund, saved N1.4 trillion with
another N2.5 trillion ready as special
intervention fund, which goes to say that the
country is not actually broke.

“These new ministers should note the challenge
before them regarding the image of the country
which the APC government has changed from
being the ‘Heart of Africa’ and a country of
‘Good people, Great nation’ to that of ‘Corrupt
people, Broke nation’.
“Furthermore, we counsel the ministers,
especially those who will be the face of the
government, to note that the campaigns are
over. Nigerians, therefore, will no longer
condone propaganda, lies and deceit but expect
a responsible dissemination based on truth,
honesty and openness”.
Concentrate on Power transmission, Barth Nnaji
urges Fashola
Also yesterday, former Minister of Power,
Professor Barth Nnaji, urged the Minister of
Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde
Fashola, to concentrate on transmission process
of the power sector because of its constraints.
Speaking to journalists shortly after he appeared
before the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Power,
Professor Nnaji said: “I know that Fashola is an
excellent administrator and manager. I can
imagine what Lagos State used to be like before
he became governor and what it is now. It
comes with dedication and that is what we need
in this country.”

Buhari fair to South-East —Egolum
A former chieftain of the National Democratic
Coalition, Chief Chuba Egolum, okayed President
Buhari’s handling of the ministerial appointments
and distribution of portfolios and disagreed with
those who said that the South-East has been
short-changed.
His words: “Devoid of sentiments, Igbo didn’t get
it right in the last election. Our strategy was
wrong. We put all our eggs in one basket. I
won’t join the bandwagon of those complaining
about the appointment. Those who expect juicy
political appointments for the South-East have
misplaced expectations. What did the South-East
do towards the election of President Buhari? If
he gave us juicy appointments what about those
who worked for his election? Appointment is the
exclusive preserve of the President. We can fight
for even spread of projects not appointments.’’
Speaking in like manner, the Ndigbo Cultural
Society of Nigeria (NCSN) congratulated
President Buhari for appointing Ndigbo with
worthy ministerial portfolios which compliment
the appointments of Federal Permanent
Secretaries.
NCSN President, Chief Udoka Udeogaranya, in a
statement said “these recent conducts by
President Buhari indicated that the president is
beginning to re-write himself from an earlier
posture of sectionalism into a worthy national
posture.”

Fayose tasks Fayemi on Ekiti

Meanwhile, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti
State has congratulated former governor of the
state, Dr Kayode Fayemi, over his appointment
as Minister of Solid Mineral, urging him to use
his position for the commercial exploitation of
the abundant solid mineral resources in the
state.
The governor in a statement issued in Ado-Ekiti
by his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka,
said President Buhari must have considered the
need for commercial exploitation of the solid
minerals spread across towns and villages in
Ekiti State before arriving at the choice of
Fayemi as Solid Minerals minister.
Fayose spoke as Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital,
erupted in celebration over Fayemi’s new
position.
As early as 8 am, live bands were stationed at
the APC secretariat along Ajilosun Street as
party members and supporters trooped in,
waiting for the inauguration and allocation of
portfolio to the former governor.
Crowd of supporters at the secretariat spilled
over to the main road along the busy Akure-Ado
Ekiti road as they went into jubilation when
news broke that Fayemi had been named the
Minister of Solid Minerals, the sector the
President has marked out as the second golden
egg of the nation’s economy after oil.


www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/ministers-mixed-reactions-trail-assignment-of-portfolios/