Under Nigeria's constitutional provision, each of her 36 states must produce at least one minister, meaning that even if the cabinet is small, every state will get at least one minister of state. President Buhari is thought to be planning on having just 19 ministers having rationalised and merged several ministries.
So far, 21 names have been submitted to the senate and legislators will begin screening the nominees next week. With that list out of the way, President Buhari has begun working on the next batch and those being put forward include the likes of Barth Nnaji, Chief Festus Odimegwu, Hon Emeka Nwajuba, Rotimi Akeredolu, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Anyim Nzeribe, and Professor Anthony Anwuka.
Since the first list was announced, several states who did not have any ministerial nominees have stepped up lobbying for their candidates. State governors in particular are believed to at the forefront of the horse-trading.
One government source said: “Despite the fact that the president has set his own criteria, he is weighing options on the remaining candidates because of interplay of factors. Although some aides are proposing the retention of the 42-man ministerial structure, others are urging the president to stick to the 36-team model prescribed by the 1999 Constitution."
Another source added: “For instance in Imo, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo wants the slot for a former chairman of the National Population Commission, Chief Festus Odimegwu but Governor Rochas Okorocha is rooting for his in-law, Professor Anthony Anwuka. Also in contention is a former governorship candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change in 2011, Hon Emeka Nwajuba.
“In Abia State, the jostle is between Buhari’s old associate, Ike Emenike and the party’s governorship candidate, Anyim Nzeribe, who is a loyalist of Governor Rochas Okorocha. In Ondo State, the race for the ticket is between a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Rotimi Akeredolu and a top politician from the state, who was an executive of a multinational company."
He added that in Osun State, there are three candidates for the slot and President Buhari is expected to pick between ex-Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the immediate past vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan Professor Isaac Adewole and a prominent politician in the state. In Enugu State, Comrade Osita Okechukwu, the national publicity secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties is thought to be the front runner.
Others vying for a ministerial appointment are said to be former minister of power, Professor Barth Nnaji, Emma Eneukwu, Chief Okey Ezea and Chief Onyemuche Nnamani. In Kwara State, senate president Bukola Saraki is said to be lobbying for the return of his godson former sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi.
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