After the opposition All
Progressives Congress (APC) won the presidential poll, intensive internal
campaigning has started over the formation of the cabinet of the
president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.
Though some candidates have been
marked down for definite offices, the selection of those to fill the
sought-after “juicy” positions may not be an easy task, as powerful party
members and others who gave Buhari support from outside the APC are pushing
their own nominees.
According to Daily Post, the former
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, may
have been offered the Ministry of Finance in the Buhari government by
the ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Soludo was a member of the economic
team for the Obasanjo government prior to becoming the governor of the CBN.
Many APC leaders are said to be
against him. One of the reasons is that Soludo remains a card-carrying member
of the All Progressive Grand Alliance.
The other is that it was under
Soludo that the banking sector almost collapsed, a situation confirmed by the
former CBN chief and Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, a loyal supporter of
the APC.
The former Lagos state governor,
Bola Tinubu, is considered also to be strongly against Obasanjo’s
recommendation.
Sources say he had in fact agreed a
contract with Buhari prior to the APC presidential primaries regarding
appointments to ministerial positions.
Tinubu is said to have drafted an
agreement with Buhari, to which the president-elect added his signature.
According to the accord, the former
Lagos governor will name nine ministers.
Some of the positions are said to
comprise Petroleum, Finance, Works, Federal Capital Territory and Interior.
It is for this reason that Tinubu
opposes Soludo as minister of finance.
Soludo is reported to have been persuaded by
Obasanjo to accept the nomination
Tinubu is now reportedly pulling the strings for President-elect Buhari’s
transition team. Buhari is expected to constitute his transition team
which will consist of politicians and private sector players that will
enable his smooth takeover from the leaving President Goodluck Jonathan
government.
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