Buhari inaugurates ministers next week

By Iheanacho Nwosu
SAVE for any change in programme , President Mu­hammadu Buhari will, next week, inaugurate and assign portfolios to ministers con­firmed by the Senate today.
The number of minis­ters that will be inaugurat­ed will, however, depend on the outcome of today’s confirmation of the sec­ond batch of the ministe­rial nominees, 16 in number, whose screening ended yes­terday. Senate confirmed 21 ministries last week.
If the 16 nominees scale the confirmation hurdle to­day, the total number of min­isters that would be sworn in next week will be 37.
President Buhari ,who is currently on a four-day of­ficial visit to India, is sched­uled to return to Nigeria tomorrow.
Senate President, Dr Bu­kola Saraki, is expected to transmit the list of nominees confirmed by the Senate to him this weekend.
A source at the Presiden­cy told Daily Sun that Bu­hari has concluded arrange­ment to administer the oath of office on the new minis­ters next week.
Although he was not spe­cific on the date the swear­ing-in would hold, he said the event is likely to take place between Monday and Wednesday.
He said “for now, the plan is that the inauguration will hold next week.
I don’t think I can be spe­cific on the date; it may be Monday, Tuesday, Wednes­day … All I know is that it will hold next week.”
The source further added that the only thing that may work against the plan is if the Senate leadership fails to transmit the list of ministers-designate to the president.
He submitted that “Mr President has done his own bit; he has forwarded the list to the Senate.
He is expecting the Sen­ate to do its own job by fur­nishing him with the list of ministers-designate. That is where we are right now.”
On the likely ministries they will be assigned, the source said he was unsure of the portfolios.
“Nobody, except the president, can confidently tell you who is going where. None of the ministers-desig­nate is privy of the ministry he/she will man,” he said.
However, he noted that it would be surprising if the current Group Managing Director of Nigerian Nation­al Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ibe Kachukwu is not appointed the Minister of State for Petroleum.
“There are some of the ministers that we can say to a considerable degree that they will be sent to so and so ministries. Kachikwu is one of them .”
Apart from Kachikwu, the source submitted that Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Audu Ogbe, Babatunde Fashola and Aisha Alhassan may head Ministries of Power, Agriculture, Justice and Women Affairs respectively.
He also hinted that Sena­tor Chris Ngige-Anam­bra, Kayode Fayemi- Ekiti ,and Chibuike Amaechi, Rivers, may head Health, Foreign Affairs and Niger Delta ministries respec­tively.

Culled from Sun