Buhari Weighs Options on Incoming Cabinet | Nairalaw

* Wants clean slate, may recall only a few current ministers

Incumbents abandon responsibilities, engage in massive lobby to
return Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja, THISDAY reports.

Barely a month and a half to the start of his second term,
President Muhammadu Buhari is weighing his options for a new
cabinet that would help him to deliver on his campaign promises to
Nigerians.

The president, who had told Nigerians during the keenly
contested presidential election held on February 23 that he would
consolidate on the gains of his first term, particularly in the
areas of security, fight against corruption and revival of the
economy, is said to be considering starting his second term on a
fresh slate, sending home all the incumbent ministers except one or
two of them he retains confidence in.

Buhari had been under severe criticisms for not tinkering with
his cabinet even when it was obvious that many of them were so
anonymous and underperforming.

But the president kept faith with the ministers, perhaps in the
belief that they would improve and help him shore up the confidence
of Nigerians in his administration’s capacity to meet their basic
expectations.

THISDAY sources close to the president said the outcome of the
presidential election, which though he won by close to four million
votes ahead of his main rival, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), was said to be an eye opener for the
president, who is said to have come to terms with the reality of
majority of Nigerians’ disillusionment with the performance of his
administration.

“The president is not carried away by the euphoria of his
victory at the poll. Rather, he is acutely aware that Nigerians
seem not too impressed and he is determined to make amends,” a
highly placed source said.

According to him, “The president intends to do a clean sweep of
the cabinet by gathering a new bunch that would help him deliver
the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.”

Subsequently, Buhari is said to be considering dissolving his
body of ministers by the middle of next month to pave the way for
the appointment of fresh helmsmen.

Although the president is said to be looking at appointing more
technocrats, THISDAY gathered that many of the incumbent ministers
have set up strong lobby to return to office.

Presidential Villa sources said so intense is the lobby that the
president and his key aides are worried that governance is
suffering.

“Ministers would appear to have left their tasks and are now
running around close associates of the president to help them keep
their job,” a source said, adding that Buhari is already compiling
a list of such ministers, vowing to ensure that they do not make
the next cabinet.

But there are concerns that given the connections of some of the
outgoing ministers, the president might not be able to withstand
the pressure and might eventually return many of them.

“That is not likely to happen,” said a close presidential aide,
who is part of the search team for what he called “brilliant but
experienced technocrats for the task of making the next term more
meaningful and eventful for Nigerians.”

Buhari, according to impeccable villa sources, intends to still
keep a lean team of not more than 36 ministers being put together
by his kitchen cabinet, said to be led by his Chief of Staff, Malam
Abba Kyari.

Unlike in 2015 when it took him about six months to show up with
his list of ministers, the president is said to be determined to
hit the ground running this time around.

“He plans to send his list of ministers to the Senate almost
immediately it is convened in June,” a close associate told THISDAY
last night.