Barring last minute changes, President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to administer the oath of office on the seven ministerial nominees who were confirmed by the senate last week for them to commence work in earnest.
Sources said President Buhari will swear in the new ministers and assign them portfolios.
“The swearing-in ceremony may be held on Wednesday (today) at the Council chambers of the State House in Abuja before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting,” a credible source told The Point on Tuesday.
He said that the new ministers, who are joining the Buhari’s administration which has less than one year left in office, will be expected to bring their wealth of experience to bear on any ministry they are assigned to oversee.
“They are also expected to key into the mantra of the Buhari administration and be team players like their colleagues in the Federal Executive Council. At all times, the thinking of the new ministers should be how to impact positively on the nation by working hard to make necessary differences in their new political appointments.
They should build on the foundation laid by their predecessors so that by the time the Buhari administration will be winding down by May, 2023, there will be cause to thank the President for the confidence reposed in them,” the source added.
Penultimate Tuesday, the Senate received the list of seven nominees from President Buhari for consideration and confirmation as ministers.
Their nomination was contained in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and read at plenary.
In the letter, President Buhari listed the ministerial nominees to include Henry Ikechukwu (Abia), Umana Okon-Umana (Akwa-Ibom), and Ekuma Joseph (Ebonyi), Goodluck Obia (Imo), Umar Ibrahim (Kano), Ademola Adewole Adegoroye (Ondo), and Udum Odi (Rivers).
Ikechukwu was a former commissioner for Industry, Science and Technology in Abia state until 2020 when he left the PDP for the APC.
Ikechukwu said he left the PDP because he had “always been sidelined in my ward, local government area and state party decisions.”
In the build-up to the APC national convention, he was nominated by the Abia chapter of the party for the role of national vice-chairman in the South East. However, he was beaten to the position by Ijeomah Arodiogbu, who was elected based on consensus.
Umana, a renowned economist and politician was in 2020 re-appointed by President Buhari as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority.
Ekuma, a former special adviser to Ebonyi Governor also served the state as Commissioner for Investment between 2019 and 2021 el-Yakub was appointed by the President as his Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives) in 2019.
He is an APC stalwart from Kano State and was a member of the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007 representing Kano Municipal Federal Constituency.
Adegoroye, a native of Akure in Ondo State lost the APC primary election for Akure North/South federal constituency and his nomination was said to be a way of compensating him for being a committed member of the ruling party.
The Red Chamber confirmed all the seven nominees after their screening exercise which lasted for about five hours during plenary last Wednesday.
