State Governors will not choose my ministers – Buhari
As the May 29 Inauguration of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to highest position of office in Nigeria nears.
The President-elect has dismissed the ministerial lists in circulation on the social media as fake because his ministers will not emerge the way the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) picked members of its Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the last 16 years.
Buhari made this known in an exclusive interview he granted senior editors of Daily Trust at his country home in Daura, Katsina State on Tuesday.
Buhari said “I am not speaking about it; I have not put anything on paper, so nobody has seen it and I haven’t discussed it with anybody; I am just keeping it close to my chest.
I am going to quote myself because I heard in one of the interviews that I said the type of people I am supposed to appoint, like in the cabinet and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and service chiefs, will be different. Definitely my approach is going to be different from what we had under the PDP where governors nominated ministers.”
The president-elect said if state governors are at liberty to appoint their commissioners, he, too, should be at liberty to choose those who would serve with him in the Federal Executive Council.
“I have been around long enough to know people that I can approach for things like that… Deliberately we will look for competent people, dedicated and experienced to head ministries and, of course, there will be schedules for ministers and we will expect them to fill them. Economically we will try and stop a lot of wastages and encourage austerity so that we can fund the ministries. Education and healthcare will get more attention. Of course, security is Number One. Certainly, there is a lot to do but we are hoping that we ‘ll get good people to be in charge of ministries who can apply themselves to their responsibilities so that in no time Nigerians would begin to see the difference”, He added.
When asked if he would present the list of his ministers to the Senate in the first week of the proclamation of the new legislature, Buhari simply responded “I will not make that known before you.”
Pls sir choose ministers based on merit.