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The Human & Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to fill the vacant positions in his cabinet without further delay.
Buhari recently bid farewell to 10 of his ministers who recently resigned from their various portfolios to pursue their political ambitions in line with his directive.
However, some of the ministers including the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, have said they will remain in Buhari’s cabinet.
The Chairman of HEDA, Olanrewaju Suraju, over the weekend recalled that it took President Buhari over six (6) months to appoint ministers in 2015, which not only kept Nigerians angst but held the economy standstill.
A statement by HEDA obtained by SaharaReporters on Sunday said, “The president should not waste time to replace the 10 ministers who have resigned to pursue their choice political ambitions. He should make haste and present new persons to the National Assembly for confirmation before the Parliamentarians are engrossed with the electoral campaigns.
“Let him not repeat what happened in 2015, when the country was kept in the dark for six months. Many of the offices, particularly the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation is too important to be left vacant at this time of political developments in the country.”
Suraju advised the President to look for people who know their onions and are fit to do the jobs in the affected ministries, and “shun cronyism and other primordial sentiments in choosing the right persons this time”.
He said, “We wish the president could get men and women who are capable, to revamp those ministries within the short but critical time left for the government. Though, every sector of the economy is begging for competent hands to revive them. The country needs and deserves the right people needed to occupy the right positions at the right time with the right resources to achieve the right results.
“Recall that some ministers like Abubakar Malami and some former ministers who were hosted to a valedictory session by the president and automatically vacated their offices are making attempts at a U-turn to resume their former positions, but Nigeria have raised the alarm against such move calling on the president never to restate such unserious and unstable characters, not without a reappointment and Senate clearance as ministers.
“The affected ministers and ministries include Minister State for Mines & Steel, Uche Ogar; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; Minister of Labour & Employment, Chris Ngige; Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen.
“Others are The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Goodwill Akpabio; Minister of Justice/Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu; Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba and Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Tayo Alasoadura.
“It has been confirmed that Amaechi, Nwajuiba, Ngige, Akpabio, Onu and Sylva have all picked the presidential nomination forms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while Mr. Malami has also declared interest in the governorship position in his home state of Kebbi.
“Running for the governorship position in Abia State is Ogar while Tallen has also declared her ambition to contest for the senatorial seat in Plateau State.
“Alasoadura on the other hand had picked up relevant forms to contest for the Ondo Central Senatorial seat on the platform of APC.”
