Here are the Big Challenges Waiting for Buhari's New Ministers

Precisely 167 days of assuming office, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday completed the process of setting up his cabinet with the inauguration of 36 ministers. The ministers were also assigned their portfolios at the inauguration, which held in at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The inauguration was witnessed by top politicians and chieftains of the ruling APC, including the party’s chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

But APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu, did not attend the event. Below are the details...

Of course, as of the time of the inauguration in Abuja, Tinubu was at nearby Kaduna State, also inaugurating a new taxi scheme of Governor Nasir el-Rufai.

Buhari named Tinubu’s successor in the Lagos House, Babatunde Fashola, as the Minister of Power, Works and Housing and another ally of the APC leader, Lai Mohammed, got the information portfolio.

Fashola’s ministry, a merger of three ministries – Power, Works & Housing, Land and Urban Development – is believed to be the biggest under the Buhari administration.

The President announced that the number of federal ministries had been reduced to 24. He also reiterated his self-appointment as Minister of Petroleum Resources.

The Buhari’s ministers and their portfolios are:
Rotimi Amaechi (Transportation); Chris Ngige (Labour and Employment); Kayode Fayemi (Solid Minerals); Abdulrahman Dambazau (Interior); Aisha Alhassan (Women Affairs); Ogbonnaya Onu (Science and Technology); Kemi Adeosun (Finance); Abubakar Malami (Justice); Hadi Sirika (State for Aviation); Suleiman Adamu (Water Resources); Solomon Dalong (Youths and Sports) and Ibe Kachikwu (State for Petroleum).

Others are...
Osagie Ehanire (State for Health); Audu Ogbeh (Agriculture and Natural Resources); Udo Udo Udoma (Budget and National Planning); Amina Mohammed (Environment); Ibrahim Usman Jibril (State for Environment); Anthony Onwuka (State for Education); Muhammadu Bello (Federal Capital Territory); Adamu Adamu (Education); Okechukwu Enelamah (Industry, Trade and Investment); Aisha Abubakar (State for Trade, Industry and Investment) and Khadija Bukar Abba (State for Foreign Affairs).

The remaining ones are...
Claudius Daramola (State for Niger Delta); Geoffrey Onyeama (Foreign Affairs); Monsur Dan-Ali (Defence); James Ocholi (State for Labour); Zainab Ahmed (State for Budget); Mustapha Shehuri (State for Power); Heineken Lokpobiri (State for Agriculture); Isaac Adewole Folorunsho (Health); Usani Usani Uguru (Niger Delta Affairs); Abubakar Bwari Bawa (State for Solid Minerals); and Adebayo Shittu (Communications).

They are expected to deliver infrastructure, electricity, food, security, housing, employment, etc.

Those who attended the event included Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, among others.

Shortly after the inauguration, Buhari presided over the maiden meeting of the Federal Executive Council.

Mohammed, the new information minister, later told State House correspondents that the meeting reviewed the report of the two-day ministerial retreat held last week.

He added that the President used the occasion of the maiden meeting to reiterate his charge to the ministers to see their appointments as calls to duty.

He said that Buhari also asked the ministers to understand the current precarious situation of the country and urged them to justify the confidence Nigerians reposed in them.

‘I avoided my predecessors’ mistakes’
Buhari said in appointing his ministers and assigning portfolios to them, he was conscious of the need not to repeat mistakes by previous leaders where the right people were allocated wrong portfolios.

The President said the wrong choice of persons to head government departments led to poor performance by former ministers.

He said, “Today we have reached another milestone in the evolution of our new government, which Nigerians overwhelmingly voted into office in the March 28, 2015 general elections.

“Today we witness the swearing-in of new ministers of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Since our inauguration on May 29, 2015, the Vice-President and I have been mindful of the need to constitute a cabinet that will best deliver our expectations of a better country than we inherited.

“We want to work towards a prosperous nation, respected for the right reasons, and whose citizens can hold up their heads anywhere in the world.

“And we are optimistic that bringing this set of ministers into the service of our country today is a step in the right direction, a timely move towards realising our positive goals for our country.”

The President added, “Since we assumed office in May, I have been mindful of the need to ensure that the appointment of new ministers translates into putting round pegs in round holes while showing sensitivity to our diversity as a people and our various positions as groups of stakeholders in our country."

Government good to go
Buhari said with the inauguration of the ministers, his government would continue to implement its policies more decisively in respect of the economy and in other areas.

He said while working hard to maximise revenue from oil in the face of a sharp decline in the price for the commodity, his administration would diversify the economy in agriculture in order to enhance employment and explore solid minerals as a major revenue earner.

The primary aim, according to the President, is to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of such staples as rice and wheat and to become a major consumer and exporter of both items as well as solid minerals.

He said his government will pursue policies to generate massive employment for millions of Nigerians.