President Muhammadu Buhari will soon release the list of his ministerial nominees, the National Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed has assured.
Mohammed who made the disclosure during a Ramadan Lecture in Oro, Kwara State, attributed the delay in the formation of Buhari’s cabinet on the complexities associated with transfer of power from one party to another. “The concern of Nigerians over the delay in the release of ministerial appointments is genuine. But the fact is that this is the first time in the history of Nigeria that the opposition party will take over government from the ruling party.”
Mohammed also blamed the past government for President Buhari’s slow start. His words: “Our plan was to interface and interact with the outgoing government, but it didn’t just work out so the party set up transition committee which later presented 800 pages of handover documents to Mr. President.”
According to him, the new government is taking its time to assemble a crack squad that can deliver the necessary changes in governance. “So, in this kind of situation we found ourselves, we have to be thorough in making appointments because Nigerians’ expectations are very high and it’s understandable,” he said.
President Buhari has been widely criticised, especially by the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for failing to name his cabinet over a month after he assumed office. But, the APC spokesman assured that as soon as the cabinet is formed, the government will make up for the lost time. “When we make the right appointments, we will make up for all the shortcomings Nigerians have been complaining about,” he said.
By Olisemeka Obeche
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