Buhari names himself oil minister as he gets set to reveal other nominees today

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has made the first cabinet appointment of his administration naming himself as Nigeria's minister of petroleum resources ahead of the other nominations expected today.

 

Since assuming office on May 29, President Buhari has been governing without ministers but he has promised to send his list of nominees to the senate before the end of September. Political insiders expect the list of nominees to be forwarded to the senate later today and senate president Bukola Saraki has already announced that he is ready to receive the list.

 

Ahead of the publication of the list, President Buhari has revealed that he will head the ministry of petroleum resources but he will appoint a minister of state for the ministry. Speaking in New York after addressing a global leaders’ summit on countering terrorism and violent extremism at the United Nations, President Buhari said the step is being taken as part of efforts to sanitise Nigeria’s oil industry which is plagued by corruption, massive fraud and crude oil theft.

 

President Buhari said that the first step in this direction had already been taken with the appointment of a new management for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsequent reorganisation. He added that the prosecution of those who misappropriated NNPC’s revenue under past administrations would soon commence.

 

It is expected that President Buhari will only name some of his nominees today with a further list sent at a later date. It is believed that the president may have decided to send the names in batches in order to meet the September deadline he set for himself rather than waiting to compile the full list and fail to beat the deadline.

 

One government insider said: “What the Senate will be getting on Tuesday or Wednesday will not be a complete list. The names will be sent in batches but quite a number will be on this first list while others will be compiled and sent later.”

 

Although the names on the list are yet to be revealed, those rumoured to be on it include the likes of Femi Falana, Pat Utomi, Abdulraham Dambazau, Charles Soludo, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Segun Oni, Kayode Fayemi, Rotimi Amaechi, Dele Momodu, etc. Several of them accompanied President Buhari on his recent trip to the United Nations.