President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday morning presided over the swearing in of 36 ministers and formal inauguration of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the council chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The swearing in of ministers took place 165 days after President Buhari was sworn in and presided over the affairs of the country without a cabinet, a development that had generated public dissent.
The oath of office was, however, administered on the minister-designates in nine batches, based on state alphabetical order. The first set of ministers to take oath were Okechukwu Enelamah (Abia), Muhammadu Bello (Adamawa), Udo Udo Udoma (Akwa Ibom), and Chris Ngige (Anambra). They were followed by Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa), Adamu Adamu (Bauchi), Audu Ogbeh (Benue) and Mustapha Shehuri (Borno). Similar pattern were followed till the last batch of ministers.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the House of Representatives were among the guests at the occasion.
Unlike the past when family members and friends of the ministers thronged the villa to witness the ceremony, each of the ministers was allowed to bring a maximum of two guests to the occasion.
By Olisemeka Obeche