The list. This was of course no ordinary list, given the way Nigerians across political divides, socio-economic class, gender, etc., waited for it with bated breadth. It was as if the nation’s life depended on this list. One can only hazard that people were anxious to see who would represent their states on the list. By constitutional provision, the president is required to nominated a person from each of the 36 states and an additional six (not mandatory) from each of the six geo-political zones.
Somehow, the impression had been created that President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial list would be ready as soon as the Senate constituted its principal and presiding officers. In fact, it was said in many quarters that his initial travels abroad before his swearing-in were to enable him compile his ministerial list away from the prying eyes of supporters, loyalists, lobbyists, etc., etc. And so from May 29 when he formally assumed office people had been anxiously awaiting the list.
From thence many ‘lists’ started flying around, especially in the social media, purporting to be the authentic list with some bogus and social media buffs on it. Many people took them to heart particularly as they were said to be from ‘’credible sources’’, ‘’sources close to the presidency’’.
However, more fastidious people have realised that the only news that can be trusted must have the name of a presidency official announcing it attached to it or is pronounced orally by the senate president himself. Then in the week before the last week of July both the mainstream and social media carried the news from ‘reliable presidency sources’ that the list would be submitted to the Senate on Wednesday.
So, all ears were on ground all day long and people were virtually checking on news platforms, radio, television, print, social media virtually every hour of that day for the much awaited list. Alas! the day passed like others before it, no dice.
People continued the same pattern next day, anxious and on high alert not to miss the breaking news on the ministerial list.
It was the most sought after news item after the general elections. The vigil was in vain as the week passed quietly without the list. There was heightened anxiety in the last week of July because by a new law, the president was required to submit his ministerial list to the senate for confirmation not later than 60 days on taking the oath of office. Thus by calculation, the last day for its submission was July 26.
Consequently, everyone was cocksure that the list would be officially unveiled before that date. And so the vigil intensified. On Monday, July 24, news filtered in that the Senate had received the almighty list that morning and that it had immediately gone into a closed door session over it. It turned out to be false as the senate denied receiving any such list.
Officially, the senate sits from Tuesdays to Thursdays. Besides, it was due to go on its annual vacation after its Thursday sitting. So, it was ‘certain’ that the list would come on Tuesday, so all eyes were focussed on the Senate from sunrise to sunset — still no dice, to the disappointment of Nigerians. Since the administration would clock 60 days in office on Wednesday, July 26 it was ‘very obvious’ to all that this most important list of the year 2023 must come on that day.. And so the vigil for this list continued.
Alas, President Tinubu waited until the last possible time to turn the list over to the confirming authority – on Thursday, the last official working day of the Senate. And the list came not in the morning but in the afternoon, when the senate would ordinarily be rounding off for the week and setting off for its yearly vacation.
That the president waited until the very last minute to send in the list gives an indication of the immense pressure that surrounded him in compiling it. This is understandable given that as a core politician, he has to do a lot of political permutations and calculus. His choice was apparently made more difficult by the fact that a number of the former governors that worked for his election as president failed in their bid to be senators.
Had they succeeded he would perhaps have had greater leeway in choosing his cabinet members. To be candid, putting yourself in the president’s shoes, there is no way he could have ignored those northern candidates that put their foot down and insisted that power should shift to the south in the build up to the ruling party’s presidential primary election in March, 2022, wherein Asiwaju Tinubu emerged the party’s candidate.
Nor could he have turned his back on those three governors (Kaduna’s Nasir el Rufai, Kogi’s Yahaya Bello and Zamfara’s Bello Matawalle) who stood up to the former CBN governor and fiercely resisted his obnoxious naira change policy on the eve of the general elections that was disadvantageous to the ruling party. Indeed, it was the reason for the relatively low voter turnout at the elections. They challenged the CBN up to the Supreme Court.
We have to accept that the president has some political I.O. U. to settle with especially those former governors. Nor could he have ignored former Rivers Governor Nyesome Wike. Wike is like a tiger, he pursues his goal with a singular purpose, fiercely and courageously, literally bulldozing obstacles on his way. Of course, like all human beings, he has some bad traits and I had advised him in previous write ups to endeavour to rein in his bad habits. But there is no denying that he performed as a governor.
Notwithstanding that Mr President could, according to official INEC results, still have won the race without Rivers’ presidential result, we have to acknowledge that Wike’s G5 group helped to decimate the opposition’s figures thereby tilting the overall numbers in favour of Tinubu.
I did not expect Mr. President to meet the United Nations’ stipulated 35 percent women representation in the cabinet, otherwise known as affirmative action, given that it is still a man’s world here. However, it is noteworthy that he nominated women from conservative northern states like Katsina and Kano; more so when these states have powerful male party power brokers/politicians that could take the slot. I guess that in states with women representations, the male core politicians there are not really happy that they were side-lined, so to speak.
In Nasarawa state, following resignation of former APC national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, and non consideration of former governor Tanko Al-Makura, who lost his re-election bid for the Senate, for either the national chairmanship position nor ministerial post (a woman clinched the state’s slot), Governor Abdullahi Sule, who could be considered a political rookie, is now the highest ranking political authority in the state. Would Governor Sule make ample use of his new found position to consolidate his hold on power and so shape the state in his own image, politically?
Expectedly, thousands of people that worked in various support groups and presidential campaign council at numerous levels nationwide and even those who supported him independently without attaching themselves to any formal organisation feel left out on the list. However, I believe many of these people would still be appointed as ambassadors, chairpersons/members of boards of parastatals, heads of agencies, etc.
