After several months of several Nigerians lamenting the inefficacy and in some cases, blatant incompetence, of some members of the Buhari cabinet, President Muhammadu Buhari is at last considering a cabinet shakeup, which is believed to be planned for early 2017.
The Guardian reports that the Senate is gearing up for early resumption in 2017 to consider the nominations of the President. “There is an understanding that in the new year, one of the key assignments the Senate will undertake aside the consideration of the 2017 Budget is the screening of some ministerial nominees who will be replacing some of the Ministers who are soon to be asked to leave the cabinet,” a source said.
It would be remembered that of the several Nigerians to lament the present constitution of the Buhari cabinet, the most surprising and direct attack came from his wife, the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, who in an interview with BBC Hausa earlier in the year, claimed that most of the political appointments made by her husband were influenced by people who neither had knowledge of the party’s ideologies nor participated in the journey to Aso Rock.
Although the President then laughed it off with some controversial statements, the fact that he is considering a cabinet shakeup may indicate some truth in Aisha Buhari’s words.
Another reason why ministerial nominees are almost guaranteed in 2017 is due to the already existing vacancies created by the death of James Ocholi and more recent appointment of Amina Mohammed as Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations.
