Lalong, Umahi, Wike: Analyst Reveals Who Tinubu May Appoint As Minister of Works
- The Nigerian Senate screened and confirmed 45 out of the 48 ministerial nominees President Tinubu forwarded to the National Assembly
- According to the Senate, three nominees are yet to be confirmed due to some security checks, but ex-governors Nyesom Wike, Simon Lalong and Dave Umahi were confirmed as ministers
- In a chat with Legit.ng, a top political analyst has revealed that among the former governors on the ministerial list, Umahi and Wike are best considered as the minister of works
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Jide Ojo, a veteran analyst and columnist, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may appoint former Governors Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state or Nyesom Wike of Rivers state as minister of works.
According to him, the past works of the former governors at the state level make them more qualified for the top job.
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Who Tinubu may appoint as minister of works, analyst reveals
Meanwhile, President Tinubu alluded that competence rather than politics will weigh heavily on his choice of ministers.
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But Ojo is of the opinion that although former Plateau state governor, Simon Lalong, performed in his state and also worked for Tinubu's emergence, Wike and Umahi's efficiency as former governors make them the ideal candidate for the Ministry of Works.
Speaking on President Tinubu constituting his cabinet this week, Ojo told Legit.ng:
"The advise I will give the president is that he has no luxury of time and the ideal thing will be for him to inaugurate the 45 ministers that have been confirmed by the senate and find a replacement for the three who are yet to be cleared by the security agencies and confirmed by the senate.
"It's another challenge. Will you make a former governor a minister of state? you can't. he will consider it beneath him. because truly a minister of state is a junior minister and their salaries are not the same.
"So all of these ministers, all of these former governors you are going to give them substantive ministries. So we have Dave Umahi who is an engineer. We have Wike who is a lawyer and Lalong who is a lawyer. you can see the dilemma.
"We can't dwell on the three former governors on the list rather we will be dealing with the eight former governors on the list.
"So the point is, it's a hard call for me to say. I feel Dave Umahi should be made the minister of works, given the enormous work he did in his state.
"I was in Abakaliki last December, I saw a lot of infrastructural development. but so did Wike. Wike also changed the landscape of Rivers state. So he will also merit being made a minister of works."
Speaking on the fate of Lalong and other former governors on the ministerial list to form Tinubu's cabinet, Ojo opined thus:
"Asiwaju has had to contend with these nominees, He now has to work through where to place them. And with these, there will be creation of many more ministries."
FLASHBACK: El-Rufai opens up on ministerial appointment
An old video of the former governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai stating his position regarding an appointment under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's government has emerged.
It would be noted that the former governor is among the governors elected under the platform o the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that stood firmly and supported Tinubu's emergence as president.
But El-Rufai, in an interview he granted before he handed power to his predecessor, Uba Sani, in Kaduna state, revealed his final stance on ministerial portfolio in Tinubu's government.
Senate confirms Wike, Alake, 43 other ministerial nominees
The Senate on Monday finally concluded the screening of 45 of the 48 ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu, confirming them as cabinet members after a week of intense grilling for some and cursory introductions for others.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the nominations to a series of voice votes, of which all but three were approved.
Source: Legit.ng
