The making of Tinubu’s ministers

A couple of days ago, President Bola Tinubu released the names of two additional ministerial nominees. General Editor, Taiwo Adisa, takes a look at the political intrigues and calculations that informed the appointment of the recently sworn-in ministers, as well as the miscalculations of some big names who failed to make the cut.

To beat the 60-day deadline set by Section 147(7) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),  for the president to name his ministers, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on July 28 forwarded the list of 28 minister-nominees to the Senate. A week later, he added another 19 names and thus emerged the biggest national cabinet of Nigeria since the restart of democratic rule in May 1999. Section 147(7) had set a 60-day window for the President to appoint his ministers, in line with federal character principle enshrined in Section 14(3) of the Constitution,  which indicates that there shall be at least one minister from each of the 36 states of the federation.

Though lawyers are yet to come to an agreement on whether the president can be said to have breached the law by failing to name the entire cabinet before the expiration of the 60-day window, there appears to be a better late than never feeling in the polity. The Senate equally appeared to have played a delay game by spacing the screening process, in an apparent bid to accommodate the President’s calendar.

Despite the enormity of speculations, not a few pundits were shocked from the eventual ministerial list released by Aso Rock Villa at the end of the day. Between 1999 and 2023, the number of ministers of the Federal Republic had staggered between 36, 42, and 44. In view of the widespread talk about the rising cost of governance, many had speculated that the number of ministers would remain within the known realm.

Thus, not a few were alarmed that many of the speculated big names eventually failed to make the list submitted to the Senate. Notwithstanding the long list of ministers put together by Tinubu, investigations have revealed that the battle for the cabinet slots was intense, fierce, and intriguing in many of the states. It was gathered that the battle of godfathers versus godsons was instituted in many states, while in some others, the President’s men simply brushed aside the hold of the oligarchy and went for preferred names.

The Wike angle

Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune had indicated that the ministerial nomination of the former Governor of Rivers State and leader of the G5 group of aggrieved PDP governors, Nyesom Wike had been sealed long before the inauguration of President Tinubu on May 29. What was not clear was whether his compatriots in the battle against the PDP would also get compensated for their activism against their party.

While it was not the first time a semblance of government of national unity was being instituted at the national level, the appointment of Wike came with another level of drama. As criticisms mounted on Wike’s appointment, the former Rivers State governor did not waste much time in speaking on the matter. Answering questions from newsmen in Abuja, Wike declared that he would not resign from the PDP and that the party had no basis to sack him for taking up the appointment. According to him, he had secured due approval of the PDP hierarchy before taking up the new assignment.

Wike said that he wrote letters to the Acting National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Umar Damagun, the incumbent governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara as well as the Minority Leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives, to seek their permission before accepting the ministerial offer. He said all the leaders of the PDP he sent letters to, responded by granting him permission to accept the ministerial offer.

He said: “They said they’re going to sanction me because I accepted the appointment. The president wrote to the 36 state governors to bring names of people to appoint, didn’t PDP governors submit names? Every PDP governor wrote a letter and nominated ten persons to be appointed by this government. But the one they talk about is Wike. Before this appointment came, I wrote to the national chairman. I wrote to the minority leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate.

“I wrote to the zonal chairman of the party and my state chairman. I wrote to my governor and all of them wrote me back and said accept. I have my evidence documented.”

Though there was no confirmation of Wike’s claim that Tinubu requested all 36 governors to submit names for appointment, what was clear was that inter-party interactions did take place before the composition of the cabinet.

Kwakwanso of NNPP

Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), in the 2023 election, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso also got caught in the intrigues that played out ahead of the nomination of the ministers. News emerged on May 16, that the then President-elect Bola Tinubu and Kwakwanso held consultative meetings in France. The meeting was said to have dwelt on the possibility of the duo working together in the new government. Though that meeting immediately sparked a sort of commotion in the politics of Kano State, as the camp of the immediate past governor, Ibrahim Ganduje became concerned that Kwakwanso’s entry into the fray would upset its calculations, not much was heard of the meeting until August, when the duo again met in Abuja.

The second meeting took place as the names of ministerial nominees were making it to the National Assembly. That meeting did not escape the prying eyes of former Governor Ganduje, who fired salvos at his predecessor in office. The incumbent National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in a video that has gone viral online, claimed that President Tinubu was smart enough to see through Kwankwaso’s desperation to become the next Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, apparently mocking his former boss.

He said of Kwakwanso: “Is it not the FCT minister position that he wanted? That was why he demolished buildings in Kano under the guise that he wanted to defend the master plan. If you ask him what the master plan is, he can’t tell you. All you will hear is, ‘We will reset the Kano master plan. We have promised Kano people that we will demolish houses even if they are 1,000-storey buildings.’ Look, if an illiterate person does not know he is one, he is certainly blind. That is what befell him.”

Spokesman of the Kwakwanso campaign council, Ladipo Johnson, replied to Ganduje, saying that the former governor was merely seeking relevance. He said: “Does anyone really still listen to what Ganduje says? The fact that he is the APC national chairman doesn’t mean that he is a rational human being. That is all I have to say. We are not going to waste our time on somebody who is inconsequential, no matter what the APC thinks they are doing. It is as simple as that.”

Ekiti scenario: Fayemi Vs Adeyeye

The intrigues that denied Dr. Kayode Fayemi from emerging as the nominee from Ekiti State also played similar games to deny one of the leaders of SWAGA from the state, Prince Dayo Adeyeye. It was gathered that the last-minute consideration of Mr. Dele Alake for the Ekiti ministerial slot denied the duo of Fayemi and Adeyeye. Incidentally, Fayemi was originally being touted as a likely Minister of Foreign Affairs. Adeyeye, who had served as Minister of State for Works under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, was said to have been largely favoured for a ministerial slot until the last-minute decision to pick Alake.

Ayade and Cross Rivers situation

Ayade, who left Cross Rivers State as governor on May 29, is being mentioned as one of the big names who equally failed to make the ministerial cut. Sources confirmed that Ayade was sure of making the minister-nominees list despite the widespread information that Dr. Betta Edu, his former Commissioner for Health and his nominee into APC’s National Working Committee was favoured for the top job.

It was gathered that when President Tinubu campaigned in Cross Rivers and pleaded with Senator Ewa Enoh to support the gubernatorial candidate of the party in the state, no one had the inkling that Enoh would be rewarded so handsomely for heeding the party’s call.

Thus, Ayade’s loyalists were of the belief that even with Edu on the list, the former governor would still make it.  The appointment of Edu and Enoh was, however, said to have jolted the former governor’s camp. It was learnt that spirited efforts were made to alter Edu’s state of origin following indications that she was somehow linked to either Abia or Anambra State. Up to the last minute, loyalists of Ayade were said to have firmly believed that the powers that be would be able to swing Edu’s state of origin to one of the South East states, so as to pave the way for the immediate past governor.

Kogi State scenario

Another state with intense intrigues was Kogi. Some forces had from the start linked Governor Yahaya Bello to the quest for the ministerial job, apparently because he is almost rounding off his tenure of office. Others, however, were mouthing a Tinubu loyalist, Hon. James Faleke and other party leaders. The choice of Shuaibu Audu, son of a core Tinubu ally, the late Governor Abubakar Audu,  was said to have jolted stakeholders, while Governor Bello promptly owned the choice as a win-win situation since Audu’s father was a political leader in the state.

The setting with other G5 members, Oyo & Ondo

In the case of other G5 members except for Wike, it was learnt that the scandalous loss of the APC in the South East zone was a great disincentive against whatever case anyone would want to make for the duo of Ikpeazu and Uguwanyi, while the political strength of Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in Benue was said to have blocked any major concession going the way of Ortom.

While APC stakeholders in Oyo and Ondo States were hopeful of making inputs into the ministerial list, the presidential team was said to have thought otherwise. Aso Rock apparatus was said to have pinpointed the two nominees from the states. In the case of Oyo, it was said that there was a bit of consideration for Governor Seyi Makinde, in view of his apparent role in the G5 and the strong support he gave to President Tinubu, but it was learnt that there was a last-minute change of heart which saw to the nomination of Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, now the Minister of Power. Adelabu was originally a member of the APC, who defected to the Accord Party to contest the 2023 governorship election. Also in the case of Ondo, the choice of Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo was said to have been made straightaway from the Villa.

South-East on the waiting list?

A similar scenario is the order of the day in the states of South-East as we speak, following indications that one additional slot may be picked from the zone to create a sort of balanced representation among the zones. Senators of the South-East had raised a motion during the confirmation hearing, alleging marginalisation of the zone in the appointment of ministers. They claimed that whereas the North-West had 10 nominees, while the South-West had nine, the South-East got only five minister-nominees, representing the five states of the zone.  The last would not be heard on President Tinubu’s decision as regards the case of Kaduna and the extra slot being demanded by South-East stakeholders until the Senate resumes late in September.

SWAGA reacts

If there was a group that championed the Tinubu campaign ahead of the 2023 election, SWAGA should earn some credits. It is a group made up of seasoned politicians, who pulled themselves from across the South West States to popularise Tinubu’s Renewed Hope mantra. Names like Prince Dayo Adeyeye and Senator Soji Akanbi were said to be ringing bells as leaders of this group that were being considered for the ministerial slot but at the inauguration of the 45 ministers confirmed by the Senate, on August 21, no member of the group made it.

Apparently reacting to President Tinubu’s failure to name any of its leaders, SWAGA in August, issued a statement to express displeasure with the development.

The group, in a statement by one of its leaders, Ahmed Banjo, called on President Tinubu to reconsider the selection process and ensure the inclusion of some of its leaders who have proven their loyalty and dedication to APC’s manifesto.

According to the group, “It is important that the President addresses this concern and ensures that the party’s supporters are rewarded for their unwavering dedication. Only through fair representation, inclusion, and recognition can the party foster a sense of unity, motivation, and commitment among its members.”

El-Rufai and the dropped nominees

Even though the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai’s name made it to the Senate and was duly screened by the lawmakers,  his nomination was turned down alongside that of Mrs. Stella Okotete from Delta State and Sani Abubakar Danladi from Taraba State.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the confirmation hearing for the ministers said that the three nominees could not be confirmed due to some adverse security concerns. In the aftermath of that development, el-Rufai was quoted in the media as saying that he had dropped his ministerial ambition. Thus as we speak, intrigues of who picks the Kaduna ministerial slot are still ongoing.

Keyamo’s late entry

The name of the Minister of Aviation Development made it to the Senate at the very last minute of the process. Mrs. Okotete had been screened and was seen to have done well during the exercise on the floor of the Senate but it was realised that the activism of Keyamo was still needed in the government. besides, the lawyer, who served in the cabinet of former President Muhammadu Buhari had started attracting derisive comments from social media hands, who believed he had been used and dumped. Villa operatives were said to have made a strong case on his behalf and the only other option was to drop Okotete. Keyamo’s offense was his attitude to the National Assembly when he served in Buhari’s cabinet.

But Keyamo was going to hit the canvas during the screening as Senators were said to have resolved not to confirm him. It was, however, learnt that a brisk intervention by the Presidential Villa when the Senate was called into an executive session to determine the lawyer’s fate saved the day. strong pleas were said to have been sent from the Villa to the chamber to allow Keyamo’s nomination, after an apology.

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