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Nigeria's Cabinet: Seven People To Watch In Buhari's Team by Lighthouseman: 3:26pm On Nov 16, 2015 |
Members of Nigerian President Muhammadu
Buhari's cabinet have now been sworn in,
more than five months after the president took
office.
Mr Buhari, who was elected in March partly on
a promise to tackle corruption and insecurity,
vowed to select competent and clean
individuals.
But when the much-anticipated list was
released, many were disappointed, asking
whether the wait had been worth it, and
whether those selected were the best in the
country.
Some say the list is full of old and recycled
politicians who have been part of Nigeria's
problems.
The youths who worked tirelessly during his
campaign have also been disappointed
because the average age in the cabinet is 52.
Some women's groups have also voiced their
anger that there are just six females on the
list.
The 36 cabinet members include five former
governors, nine lawyers, four former senators,
three academics, two medical doctors, two
retired soldiers and a clergyman.
The combination of experienced politicians
and technocrats shows that the president was
trying to balance his choice - rewarding party
loyalists, while also selecting some
professionals.
His hands were also tied by the constitutional
requirement to choose at least one person
from each of Nigeria's 36 states.
His supporters say the list shows he is
committed to fulfilling his election promises,
adding that age and gender do not matter at
this stage because the country needs to be
rescued urgently.
Here are seven interesting characters to watch
in the cabinet:
Babatunde Fashola
It is not surprising that Mr Fashola made the
list.
His achievements during his tenure as
governor of Lagos state - Nigeria's
commercial capital - makes him a good asset.
He is credited with bringing an element of
order to the chaotic city through massive
infrastructure development that included
demolishing illegal structures to pave the way
for new road projects.
Nigeria in pictures: Lagos facelift
He has been named to head the ministry of
power, housing and works, which merges three
former ministries.
Following on from his success in Lagos, he
has been tasked with rebuilding Nigeria's
dilapidated infrastructure - from generating
electricity, to constructing roads and providing
affordable housing.
Ibe Kachikwu
The former ExxonMobil executive vice-
chairman was appointed by President Buhari
in August to head the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), an
organisation vital to Africa's largest economy
but notorious for corruption and
mismanagement.
Many analysts believe his appointment has
started to yield results.
It is surprising that he has been asked to join
the cabinet, where he will be junior oil
minister.
This means a new NNPC head may have to be
appointed.
Even though the president has said he will
oversee the ministry himself, most of the work
and reforms he plans to carry out will be
handled by Mr Kachikwu.
It will be interesting to see how he will help Mr
Buhari clean up the oil sector and recover the
mind-boggling sums he said had been stolen.
Does Nigeria run better without a cabinet?
Buhari's to-do list
Is Buhari a changed man?
Amina Mohammed
She is a well-known technocrat within and
outside Nigeria. She has more than 30 years
of experience in the field of development,
including as Nigeria's presidential adviser on
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
She was credited with designing and
developing several government projects aimed
at reducing poverty.
Before joining the cabinet, Ms Mohammed
was the Special Adviser to UN Secretary-
General Ban Ki-Moon on post-2015
development planning.
Her eloquence and globally-exposed
experience in development and management
could be an asset to the government if
correctly exploited.
She becomes minister of the environment.
Rotimi Amaechi
He is the most controversial of all the
appointees even though his inclusion did not
come as surprise.
As President Buhari's campaign director,
many Nigerians see Mr Amaechi's
appointment as pay-back for the role he
played in the president's victory during the
election.
However, his choice has been heavily criticised
after he was indicted by Rivers state's panel
of inquiry for allegedly enriching himself
during his eight-year tenure as the state's
governor.
He denied all the allegations and said they
were politically motivated. He also took the
commission to court.
Opposition MPs tried to block his appointment
but the ruling party used its majority to get
him through.
He is the new transport minister.
Abdurrahman Dambazau
As Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff between 2008
and 2010, he led a successful campaign
against militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
After he was sacked, the militants regrouped
in 2011. Since then, thousands of people have
been killed and the insurgency has spread to
neighbouring countries.
Although he was not asked to become defence
minister as expected, he will be involved in the
fight against Boko Haram, as the new interior
minister who is in charge of the police.
Kemi Adeosun
She is an economist and financial expert who
was educated and worked in the UK before
going back to Nigeria to serve as a
commissioner of finance in the south-western
state of Ogun.
She replaces the well-respected Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala as finance minister.
During her presentation to the Senate, she
said funds allocated for various projects are
being diverted and identified ways to stop this
happening.
She also said the country cannot afford to
continue spending 78% of its budget on
paying civil servants' salaries and other
ongoing costs.
It will be interesting to see how the financial
markets, investors and ordinary Nigerians will
react to her appointment and whether she will
be able to transform the country's struggling
economy.
Audu Ogbe
As a veteran politician with four decades of
experience, Mr Ogbe, 68, is known to be
independent-minded and self-willed and has
served in several previous governments.
Many remember him for his public row with
ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005,
when he was chairman of the then ruling
Peoples Democratic Party.
He was forced to resign from the position
after accusing Mr Obasanjo of interfering in
party affairs.
Mr Ogbe is an experienced farmer and will
lead the vital agriculture ministry.
Nigeria has a vast tracts of land that analysts
say, if used properly, could create jobs for the
country's army of unemployed youths and
reduce Nigeria's dependence on oil.
Nigerians will be hoping that he is able to
bring this theory to reality. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34538718?ocid=socialflow_facebook |
Re: Nigeria's Cabinet: Seven People To Watch In Buhari's Team by ademikefaith(m): 3:28pm On Nov 16, 2015 |
Too long 1 Like |
Re: Nigeria's Cabinet: Seven People To Watch In Buhari's Team by Paulpaulpaul(m): 3:40pm On Nov 16, 2015 |
Watch out for Shittu Adebayo, that guy is a ter........ |
(1) (Reply)
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