An impeccable Presidency source told Sunday PUNCH that the list of ministerial nominees in President Bola Tinubu’s administration is ready and undergoing final security checks.
The source, who did not reveal the names or numbers of those under consideration for ministerial positions, said the Department of State Services and members of the Presidential Strategic Team were conducting final background checks on those named as potential ministers.
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“They have the list already. Several names have been written against their respective offices. But they just have to find out and do some checks on a few of these names. That’s what is delaying the list. They are being very strategic with this,” the source said.
If the Tinubu administration goes ahead with the appointment of state ministers, 44 names are expected to be sent to the 10th Senate for screening and eventual approval.
The PUNCH previously reported that politicians had flocked to the President’s private residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, vying for ministerial positions, particularly during the Eid-el-Kabir holidays, when Tinubu was in Lagos.
“I learned that Tinubu’s ministerial list is almost done. He kept a core of ministers to himself, heavily influenced by the kitchen cabinet of his special advisers. Politicians are in Bolekaja over the rest. It’s a slugfest now,” a source had disclosed to our correspondent on Monday.
Dele Alake, then Special Adviser to the President-elect, stated in March that Tinubu would form his cabinet within one month of taking office.
Alake stated that this was in accordance with the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which requires presidents-elect and governors-elect to submit the names of their ministerial and commissioner nominees for confirmation by the Senate or the respective state Houses of Assembly within 60 days of taking the oath of office.
He had said, “I told you in an earlier interview that it didn’t take Asiwaju more than three weeks to form his cabinet as a governor. That was as at that time. I think 60 days is even too much.
“A month, maximum, is enough for any serious government to form its cabinet and put the structure of government in place after the swearing-in.”
However, Alake, who is now the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, was unreachable at the time of filing this report, Punch reports.
Meanwhile, there are new indications that the President may send his list of ministerial nominees to the National Assembly this week, after lawmakers return from their Sallah break to resume their legislative duties.
The news comes just one week after the 10th Senate and House of Representatives adjourned their legislative sessions to go on vacation until July 4.
This was confirmed in two separate interviews with Dr Ene Ogbole, a former coordinator in the dissolved All Progressives Congress Campaign Council, and Bala Ibrahim, the APC’s Director of Publicity.
Since Tinubu took office on May 29, speculation about who will make the ministerial list has sparked heated debates and growing anxiety among Tinubu’s campaign members and party loyalists.
The President, on the other hand, has kept everyone guessing by clutching the list tightly to his chest and keeping it away from even his closest allies.
Last week, speculation swirled that some APC governors might be granted the authority to nominate more than one person as ministerial nominees with the President’s approval.
According to a source, the ministerial list could be submitted to the Senate for confirmation this week, with the cabinet in place later this month.
