Connect with us

News

Key portfolios for Edun, Alake, Oyetola, Fagbemi, Adelabu

Published

on

Ahead of Monday’s inauguration of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) by President Bola Tinubu, the Presidency last night released portfolios of the 45 ministers-designate cleared by the Senate.

Three nominees – former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), former All Progressives Congress (APC) Women Leader Stella Okotete (Delta) and former Taraba State Governor Abubakar Danlandi (Taraba) – were not cleared, which reduced the list of nominees to 45

Nobody has been assigned to the Ministry of Niger Delta. 

Also, the Ministry of Environment and Ecological Management remains vacant, but the position is reserved for the eventual nominee from Kaduna State.

Also not assigned is the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. During the last administration, President Muhammadu Buhari held the portfolio.

New ministries have been created while some existing ministries were split to accommodate the ministers.

Thirty-two ministers and 13 ministers of state will form the new FEC.

The designated Minister of Finance, Mr. Olawale Edun will also serve as the Coordinating Minister of the Economy. His duties will include leading the economic team of the government.

Among those in the team will be former Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu who has been designated as Minister of Budget and Planning.

Another major nomination is that of Prof. Ali Pate who is the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare. He is supported by Dr. Tunji Alausa, who is the Minister of State.

Former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike takes the responsibility as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Legal giant Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) is designated as Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany Yusuf Maitama Tuggar will work as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Lagos lawyer Festus Keyamo (SAN) will be the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

Former Director-General of the Nigeria Law School Prof. Tahir Maman will be Minister of Education. Yusuf Sununu will be the Minister of State Education.

Former Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Badaru will serve as Minister of Defence. Another former Governor Bello Mattawale is the Minister of State Defence.

Former Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong will be the Minister of Labour and Employment.

Outgoing House of Representatives member Nkiruka Onyejeocha will be Minister of State, Labour and Employment.

Former Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi will hold the Works portfolio and a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Adebayo Adelabu will be in charge of Power.

Former Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola will be in charge of Transportation with Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo handling the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Development will be headed by IT expert Bosun Tijani.

Media expert Dele Alake has been posted to the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.

Former Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Geidam will be in charge of Police Affairs. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim is the Minister of State for Police Affairs.

Saidu Alkali will serve as Minister of Interior.

Blueprint publisher Muhammed Idris will be the Minister of Information and National Orientation.

Minister of State for the FCT is Mairiga Mahmud; and Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation is Bello Goronyo.

The Steel Development portfolio goes to Maigari Ahmadu. The Minister of Steel Development is Shuaibu Audu.

Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs is Zephaniah Jisalo. 

Joseph Utsev is the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation and Aliyi Sabi Abdullahi is the Minister of State Agriculture and Food Security.

Others are Abubakar Kyari (Agriculture and Food Security), Ishak Salah (Minister of State, Environment and Ecological Management), Lola Ade-John (Tourism), Doris Anite (Industry, Trade and Investment), Uche Nnaji (Innovation Science and Technology), Uju Kennedy (Women Affairs), Abubakar Momoh (Youth), Betta Edu (Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation), Ekperikpe Ekpo (Minister of State, Gas Resources), Heineken Lokpobiri (Minister of State, Petroleum Resources) and John Enoh (Sports Development).

On the list are Hannatu Musawa (Art, Culture and Creative Economy), Ahmed Dangiwa (Housing and Urban Development) and Abdullahi Gwarzo (Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development).

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

2027: Hurdles Before The Coalition, By Emeka Monye

Published

on

The 2027 presidential election in Nigeria is shaping up to be a crucial contest between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and a potential coalition of opposition parties. Several hurdles need to be overcome for the opposition coalition to succeed.

The political class is already preparing for this quadrennial event, holding consultations, meetings, negotiations, among other contending factors.

The ruling party, The All Progressive Congress, appears to be the most beautiful bride at the moment as members of other opposition parties have been courting the party, in a gale of defections, in what many political pundits and analysts described as a political tsunami.

While the APC seems to be enjoying the foray of defections by other party members into their fold, the main opposition party, The Peoples Democractic Party, PDP, appears to have lost its steam in the run of play.

The once dominant party is plagued by a series of internal crises which many political analysts believe will be the party’s undoings.

The once largest political party in Africa and oldest in Nigeria since it was created in 1998 by some elder statesmen, is now a shadow of itself, living in past glory and trying to win its way back to national prominence.

Already, some past and present leaders of the party have been consulting, negotiating, discussing, even though they have agreed yet, all in a bit to wrestle power from the stronghold of the Bola Tinubu-Led APC at the centre.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Former Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 General elections, Peter Obi, former Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, among other bigwigs, are believed to be in talks with one another of how to build a possible coalition to edge the ruling APC in the power game.

Although, no concrete decision has been reached by the major actors, their negotiations and their inability to reach a consensus remain critical factors that might endanger the birth of a viable coalition.

Factors like who will step down for who as the realignment begins, remains a major issue, taking into consideration their individual experiences, exposures, skills, knowledge, capacities and egos.

Except this issue is resolved in the run up to the 2027 presidential polls, it will be a mirage for them to unseat the Tinubu-Led government.

While the running party is busy strategizing ahead of the 2027 presidential polls, the other parties are still grappling with their internal crisis.

Some analysts believe that Atiku’s past experience as Vice President under the regime of Olusegun Obasanjo, might give him an edge, while others think Peter Obi’s popularity in the South could bring a geographical balance to the ticket.

For them to form a strong force against the APC, then, they must find common platform and agree on a candidate, which might be challenging given their different ideologies and interest.

Other factors which some political analysts have highlighted that may pose as a stumbling block agents the coalition is the timing. The time between and 2027 is quite a short time for the coalition to gather and make the desired impact.

This of course, is no brainer. Any merger of alliance must be arranged within a reasonable timeframe to be effective. Also, the coalition will have to convince the Nigerian voting public of its purpose and demonstrate a clear vision for the country’s future, particularly in the area of addressing the economic misfortunes of majority of the people. Another hurdle that would be staring the coalition in the face remains the issue of power rotation.

While the south believe it’s that turn to complete their second term in 2027, the north on the other hand argue that they have been short-changed in the governance structure of the country – in terms of number of years – since the return of democracy in 1999.

Out of the total 26 years, the north has ruled for 11 years, with the south 15 years. The issue remains a key factor that would affect the coalition to birth.

The coalition, must as a matter of urgency, decency decide on this unwritten agreement about rotating power between the North and the South, potentially present a southern for one term to allow the South to complete its own two terms for the office of the president.

In conclusion, the coalition, if it really wants to win power in 2027, must make a compelling case for itself, highlighting its unique strengths and vision, rather than just criticizing the incumbent.

It needs to differentiate itself and show Nigerians that it has a better alternative.

Emeka Monye Is A Journalist And Works With ARISE NEWS.

Continue Reading

News

Mauritania’s Tah succeeds Adesina as 9th AfDB President

Tah was elected to succeed Adesina after rounds of voting conducted by the AfDB Board of Governors during the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Published

on

By

Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah has been elected as the ninth president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) as Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina prepares to bow out.

The Bank announced his election on its website on Thursday.

Adesina’s 10-year tenure will end this year and Tah is expected to assume office on September 1, 2025.

Tah was elected to succeed Adesina after rounds of voting conducted by the AfDB Board of Governors during the Bank’s Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The Board comprises finance ministers and central bank governors from the Bank’s 81 member countries.

Continue Reading

News

JUST IN: Appeal Court Affirms Okphebholo as Edo Governor

Published

on

‎‎The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed Monday Okphebholo as duly elected in the September 21, 2024 Edo Governorship polls, as it affirms the decision of the Tribunal which on April 2 dismissed the petition of Asue Ighodalo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for lacking merit. ‎‎

A three-man panel of the Appeal court, presided over by Justice Mohamed Danjuma, restated the position of the Tribunal which held that the PDP failed to provide sufficient and credible evidence to substantiate their claims of electoral malpractice, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.‎‎

The panel held that the PDP failed to provide sufficient and credible evidence to substantiate their claims of electoral malpractice, irregularities, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act. ‎‎

The Appellate Court agrees with the Tribunal that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) Machines which the appellants tendered were merely ‘dumped’ as they weren’t demonstrated to prove overvoting.

‎‎This the Court held after it earlier expunged the 133 BVAS machines admitted in evidence at the Tribunal stage of the Governorship tussle. ‎‎

Ighodalo and the PDP were further faulted by the Appellate Court for failing to tender the voter register to prove overvoting.

The Court further adds that BVAS extract doesn’t constitute items with which to prove overvoting. ‎‎It says the documents tendered by the PDP at the Tribunal did not, on their own, prove overvoting, non-holding or cancellation of elections at the polling units.

‎‎To further puncture the case of the PDP, the panel says the 19 witnesses called by the appellants during the Tribunal hearing didn’t help their case.

It says the majority of them did not witness what they spoke about. Moreso, it adds they were insufficient to prove irregularities in polling stations at over 4,000 locations.

‎‎Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, had declared Okpebholo the winner with 291,667 votes, against Asue Ighodalo of the PDP who garnered 247,274 votes.

Continue Reading

Trending