Cabinet Dissolution: Scramble For Ministerial Appointments Begins

………..Choice of service chiefs not subject to federal character principle, says presidency

By Segun James

Following
a hint by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity,
Mr. Femi Adesina, that President Muhammadu Buhari might dissolve his
cabinet before his May 29 terminal date, jostle for ministerial
appointments by outgoing and prospective ministers have begun, THISDAY
learnt last night.

Adesina had told Arise TV, a broadcast arm of
THISDAY, Thursday morning that Buhari might dissolve his cabinet before
May 29 to pave the way for a fresh team that would help him navigate the
new tenure he won last Saturday.

“One thing about governance is
that the first mandate was for four years and it lapses on May 29, and
shortly before May 29, the president is likely going to officially
dissolve government, that is the way it is usually done – he says thank
you to everybody he has called to work with him and then, he dissolves
that government officially. Then when he is inaugurated for a second
term, he now reconstitutes government. He appoints his personal aides;
he forms the cabinet; he appoints people to fill other positions,” he
said.

THISDAY gathered that intense lobby had begun with outgoing
ministers reaching out to the president’s kitchen cabinet for support.

Some
of those said to be close to the president who have come under intense
pressure to support the ambition of prospective ministerial nominees,
include his wife, Aisha; uncle, Mamman Daura; Attorney-General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Chief of Staff,
Abba Kyari; and close ally and former member of House of
Representatives, Alhaji Mohammed Faruk.

Already caught by the
lobby bug, THISDAY understands, are some ministers who believed they had
performed in their first term of office, including the Minister of
Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Minister of
Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi; and Minister of State for Petroleum,
Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

Also pushing for appointment are members of
the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, who
believed they had worked so hard to deliver Buhari. Leading this pack,
according to presidency sources, is the Director of Strategic
Communication, Mr. Festus Keyamo SAN, who energetically took the bullets
for the president and spared none of his traducers.

THISDAY
further learnt that some of the candidates who had their governorship
and related ambition aborted, including Rivers State APC gubernatorial
candidate, Mr. Tonye Cole, have also begun to make contacts.

Adesina,
who had told Arise TV that it should be expected that Buhari would
relieve his ministers of their appointments as the curtain falls on his
tenure, also took the opportunity of his appearance to shed more light
on the appointment of military service chiefs by the president,
explaining that Buhari’s choice is not subject to the principle of
federal character enshrined in 1999 Constitution as altered.

He
said the principle, which was established to engender equitable
distribution of appointments at the federal level among the 36 states of
the federation, was not applicable to the security agencies.

Adesina’s
clarification was an apparent response to widespread criticism of
Buhari’s security appointments, thought to be lopsided in favour of the
northern part of the country.

The presidential spokesman
explained: “It is not every position that is subject to federal
character. Federal character affects the cabinet. That is why it states
that each state must have a minister. But there are some other positions
that are strictly at the prerogative of whoever is the president, and
that includes the service chiefs. That is one area that you don’t
sacrifice competence on the altar of, maybe, balance.”

He insisted that security is not subjected to federal character and should not be treated as political appointment.

Adesina
spoke on Buhari’s priorities in his impending second term and said the
president mentioned at almost all his campaign stops that he would be
focused on securing the country, reviving the economy and fighting
corruption.

“It will not be limited to those three, but those
three will continue to be fundamental to the government. So, if you want
to objectively compare now to May 2015 when this government came, the
security, you will know that there is a big and wide difference. Yes,
there are still challenges, but then, those challenges are being
tackled.”

He insisted that the government is not in denial about the security challenges in some parts of the country.
Speaking
on the election of some All Progressives Congress (APC) members facing
corruption charges in last Saturday’s National Assembly election,
Adesina argued that facing corruption charges is not the same as being
convicted for corruption.

He insisted that such persons must have been adjudged as corrupt before the tag of being corrupt can be stamped on them.

He
said being prosecuted is not the same thing as being corrupt, adding
that some people who had been accused in the past had ended up being
acquitted and discharged.

“Acquitted means they can’t be tried
again. Those allegations cannot be brought up again. There will be no
substance to them. So, the fact that you are being tried does not mean
you are already corrupt. The law does not work that way. The law states
that when you are pronounced guilty, and you have gone through all
relevant courts and at the end of the day the courts have said guilty,
that is when you are a guilty man.”

Adesina decried the number of
deaths recorded during the polls, saying that Buhari had commiserated
with the families of the deceased, regretting that it should not have
happened.

He said election is not war, expressing hope that going forward, elections in the country should not be a do-or-die affair.

He
clarified what the president meant when he talked about inclusiveness
in government, explaining that the next level manifesto of the
government emphasised that inclusiveness included opportunities for more
women and youth in government.

“It is clearly explained in that
document,” he insisted, adding that those are two of some of the key
things that the president is keen to implement.

Source:- Dailytrustng