About 10 days to September in which President Muhammadu Buhari promised to name members of the federal cabinet, the leadership of his All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that so far, the President is still keeping the list of the ministers to his chest.
The National Publicity secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made it clear that only President Buhari knew those he would appoint as he had decided to keep it ‘to his chest.’
He said: “We will wait for September, and whatever else anyone has said is just innuendos. I don’t know why Nigerians are in such a hurry. If a man has a mandate for 48 months, I don’t think it is inordinate to spend four months. Who will get medal because he appointed ministers within record time? It is the quality of the ministers – when they are able to deliver – that the country judges him with.”
The party’s spokesman insisted that the President should not be put under pressure to name ministers as the citizens will hold him responsible if he appoint wrong people into his cabinet.
“We have seen people that appointed ministers in the first month, what happened to them at the end of the day?”
On who and who may make the list and the condition with which they may be appointed, Mohammed said: “I know that there are informal meetings going on daily between the President and leaders of the party. I don’t think there is anywhere either at NEC, NWC or Caucus that anybody has discussed the issue of ministers. The President I know has kept this thing very close to his chest.
“The constitution says there would be federal character in the appointment of ministers and I think the president is not going to violate the constitution.” [myad]
