Cabinet: Senate to reveal list Tuesday
...Buhari says the wait is over
President Muhammadu Buhari has finally sent the first set of names of his ministerial nominees to the Senate for confirmation.
President Buhari announced this in his Independence Anniversary address to the nation this morning. He said subsequent lists would be forwarded to the Senate in due course.
The president noted that there had been a lot of anxiety and impatience over the delay in the announcement of his ministers.
“Fellow Nigerians.... There is no cause to be anxious. Our government set out to do things methodically and properly.
“We received the handing over notes from the outgoing government only four days
The list will not be made public until Tuesday during plenary
before taking over. “Consequently, the Joda Transition Committee submitted its Report on the reorganization of Federal Government structure after studying the hand over notes.
“It would have been haphazard to announce ministers when the government had not finalized the number of ministries to optimally carry the burden of governance. “Anyway, the wait is over. The first set of names for ministerial nominees for confirmation has been sent to the Senate.
“Subsequent lists will be forwarded in due course. Impatience is not a virtue. Order is more vital than speed. Careful and deliberate decisions after consultations get far better results. And better results for our country is what the APC government for CHANGE is all about”, Buhari said.
On the significance of today, he said Nigerians must celebrate the day whatever the circumstances they find themselves in because it represented the day of liberation from the shackles of colonialism and began our long march to nationhood and to greatness.
“Our Creator has bequeathed to us Numbers – Nigeria is the ninth most populated country on the planet. We have in addition: arable land,water, forests, oil and gas, coastline, solid minerals”.
Buhari regretted that despite all the attributes of a great nation, Nigeria was not there yet because they lacked unity of purpose which could have led to the achievement of continuity and economic progress.
He, however, stated that the fact that the nation had remained together was an achievement Nigerians should all appreciate and try to consolidate.
The President also noted that Nigeria witnessed this year “a sea change” in her democratic development, where an opposition party replaced an entrenched government in a free and fair election.
“Whatever one’s views are, Nigerians must thank former President Jonathan for not digging-in in the face of defeat and thereby saving the country untold consequences”.
“As I said in my inaugural speech, I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone. People should only fear the consequences of their actions.
“I hereby invite everyone, whatever his or her political view to join me in working for the nation”.
He said every new government inherits problems and that his was not different. “But what Nigerians want are solutions, quick solutions not a recitation of problems inherited.
Buhari said he had marshalled a coalition of armed forces of the five nations, the G7 leaders and other friendly presidents to defeat Boko Haram.
He added that under new leadership the armed forces had taken the battle to the insurgents, and severely weakened their logistical and infrastructural capabilities. “That they are resorting to shameless attacks on soft targets such as IDP camps is indicative of their cowardice and desperation.”
He said: “In the meantime, improvement in the power supply is moderately encouraging. By the same token, supply of petrol and kerosene to the public has improved throughout the country. All the early signs are that within months the whole country would begin to feel a change for the better”.
Buhari said preliminary steps had been taken to sanitise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and improve its operations so that the inefficiency and corruption could be reduced to a minimum.
He said those of the nation’s refineries which could be serviced and brought back into partial production would be enabled to resume operations “so that the whole sordid business of exporting crude and importing finished products in dubious transactions could be stopped”.
“In addition to NNPC, I have ordered for a complete audit of our other revenue generating agencies mainly CBN, FIRS, Customs, NCC, for better service delivery to the nation. Prudent housekeeping is needed now more than ever in view of the sharp decline in world market oil prices. It is a challenge we have to face squarely. But what counts is not so much what accrues but how we manage our resources that is important”, he said.
Buhari further stated: “We have seen in the last few years how huge resources were mismanaged, squandered and wasted. The new APC government is embarking on a clean up, introducing prudence and probity in public financing.
“We must change our lawless habits, our attitude to public office and public trust. We must change our unruly behaviour in schools, hospitals, market places, motor parks, on the roads, in homes and offices. To bring about change, we must change ourselves by being law-abiding citizens.”