After the long-awaited submission of the Ministerial nominees list, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, presented Tinubu’s ministerial list on Thursday, July 27, 2023. The screening of the nominees forwarded to the National Assembly’s upper chamber commenced today, Monday, July 31, 2023, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio presiding.
As the process kicked off, some of the nominees arrived at the National Assembly building for documentation and the screening. Out of the 28 submitted names, 20 nominees completed their documentation, while eight are currently abroad.
According to Section 147 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, the President must appoint at least one minister from each of the 36 states. However, 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory are yet to have their ministerial nominees announced – Adamawa, Bayelsa, Gombe, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Lagos, Osun, Yobe, Plateau, and Zamfara.
The President’s letter to the Senate, titled ‘Request for Confirmation of Ministerial-Nominees,’ indicated that a supplementary ministerial list would be sent to the red chamber later.
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The first set of nominations forwarded by President Tinubu includes prominent politicians, ex-governors, and current/former members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Notable among the ex-governors are Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Nasir El Rufai (Kaduna), and Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa). Other prominent figures in the list include Presidential spokesman Dele Alake, acting National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Abubakar Kyari, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria Lateef Fagbemi.
While there were hopes for more female nominees, only 25% of the list comprises women, with the rest being men. The women on the list are Betta Edu, Doris Aniche Uzoka, Hannatu Musawa, Nkiru Onyeojiocha, Stella Okotete, Uju Kennedy Ohaneye, and Iman Suleiman Ibrahim.
As per the Fifth Amendment of the 1999 Constitution, the President is required to transmit the names of ministerial nominees to the National Assembly within 60 days of assuming office. The President met the constitutional deadline by transmitting the ministerial list a day before the expiration of the 60-day period, on July 28, 2023.