A reliable source within the Presidency, has revealed that the list of ministerial nominees for President Bola Tinubu administration is complete and undergoing final security clearances.
According to The Punch, the source said the Department of State Services and members of the Presidential Strategic Team were doing final background checks on persons who had been named as potential ministers but did not provide names or the number of those under consideration.
“They have the list already. Several names have been written against their respective offices. But they just have to find out and do some checks on a few of these names. That’s what is delaying the list. They are being very strategic with this,” the source said.
44 names are anticipated to be sent to the 10th Senate for review and eventual confirmation should the Tinubu administration move forward with the appointment of ministers of state.
Recall that the then president-elect’s special adviser, Dele Alake, had stated in March that Tinubu would assemble his cabinet within a month of taking office.
According to Alake, this is in accordance with the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, which requires that within 60 days of taking the oath of office, presidents-elect and governors-elect submit the names of their ministerial and commissioner nominees for confirmation by the Senate or the relevant state Houses of Assembly.
He had said, “I told you in an earlier interview that it didn’t take Asiwaju more than three weeks to form his cabinet as a governor. That was as at that time. I think 60 days is even too much.
“A month, maximum, is enough for any serious government to form its cabinet and put the structure of government in place after the swearing-in.”
