List Of People Shortlisted For Tinubu Cabinet (Photos)

It is undeniable that Nigeria’s future president, Bola Tinubu, will not tolerate ineptitude and mediocrity in his cabinet because he is not a person who is at ease with it. According to his predecessors, those who were familiar with his style of leadership when he served as governor of Lagos State have described him as a leader with a talent for finding the brightest minds and those who have the necessary competence and capacity to manage the affairs of important government establishments.

The president-elect recently gave a hint about the choices he intends to make, saying definitively that he was working to establish a government of national competence, which he said would serve as the foundation for his picks.

Tinubu stated that appointments in his government will not be based on religion, race, or other similar factors despite these factors being woven into the push for appointments to his cabinet.

“In selecting my government, I shall not be weighed down by considerations extraneous to ability and performance. The day for political gamesmanship is long gone. I shall assemble competent men and women and young people from across Nigeria to build a safer, more prosperous and just Nigeria. To secure our nation and to make it prosperous must be our top priorities. We cannot sacrifice these goals to political expediency. The whims of politics must take a backseat to the imperatives of governance,” he said in a statement he personally signed.

According to sources close to the incoming president of Nigeria, Tinubu has penciled in some Nigerians who are talented, experienced, and capable but are not members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for appointment into his cabinet despite the fact that he does not spare thought in rewarding loyalty and hard work.

The following people have reportedly been shortlisted and given consideration to join his government, according to our sources:

Sanusi

It was discovered that a strong lobby is pushing for the appointment of Muhammad Sanusi II, the 14th Emir of Kano, to the position of governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Sanusi, whose area of expertise is risk management in the banking industry, has the support of Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El Rufai, who is in the president-good elect’s books.

After the turmoil of the global financial crisis of 2008/2009, Sanusi’s strong, independent leadership of the CBN as governor between 2009 and 2014 ensured relative stability of the financial market. For four years, the naira’s value remained stable at N155 to $1.

According to reports, Tinubu, a seasoned accountant, is inclined to use a new monetary management template in conjunction with sound fiscal policy to instantly revive the national economy upon taking office on May 29.

On May 29, it is all but guaranteed that Godwin Emefiele will resign from office with President Muhammadu Buhari. Sources at CBN have said that in order to prevent “embarrassment,” he may even take advantage of an upcoming handy “sick leave” abroad before Buhari is to assume office.

According to our source, Sanusi is seen as a trustworthy technocrat with the moral fortitude to clean up the banking and financial industry, which is currently ailing as a result of Emefiele’s disastrous Naira swap program. The Tinubu camp, who are thought to be vehemently opposed to Emefiele, believe that the nation’s economy is worse off as a result of Emefiele’s policy, as suggested by indicators, and not just because the Naira redesign policy is thought to be targeted against the APC in the February 25 presidential election.

A think group called the Centre for the Promotion of Private Business estimates that Emefiele’s botched Naira redesign program cost the Nigerian economy N20 trillion between January and March 2023.

Gbajabiamila

Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the current speaker of the House of Representatives, is a leading candidate to serve as the president-chief elect’s of staff.

The Speaker neglected to pick up his certificate of return during the last election because he was expected to become Tinubu’s chief of staff, PulseNets had exclusively reported.

Gbajabiamila was one of the few Tinubu supporters that broke fast with the president-elect in France last Saturday, amid rumors that the Speaker has already started to act in the capacity for which he is anticipated.

El-Rufai

One APC supporter who has won Tinubu over is Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State. Last year, the president-elect assured the former director-general of the Bureau for Public Enterprises and FCT minister that he would remain in the country to continue serving the country alongside him.

According to information, El-Rufai has been assigned the position of secretary to the government of the federation in Tinubu’s cabinet (SGF).

“You know that the office of the SGF is more or less the coordinating point for ministers in any federal cabinet. Tinubu believes that the Kaduna governor who once served as minister has the capacity to galvanise ministers to effectively implement government policies. This, coupled with his unalloyed loyalty to Tinubu, is the credentials giving him the qualities to become the next SGF. Don’t forget the confrontational manner in which he engaged the Aso Rock cabal at the peak of the cash crunch occasioned by the Naira swap policy,” one of the sources told this paper.

Alake

Dele Alake, who served as Tinubu’s information and strategy commissioner from 1999 to 2007 when he was governor of lagos, has remained with him as a media aide. The APC presidential campaign council has shortlisted Alake to be the next minister of information and culture. Alake serves as the campaign council’s special adviser on media and communication. Given the way and manner in which the media directorate of the campaign team battled the opposition with the ferocity of a wounded lion on behalf of Tinubu and the ruling party, the ace journalist has once again earned the boss’s faith and confidence.

“For Alake, it is the parliamentary ‘take a bow’ and go, as the president-elect believes that there can’t be a better choice than to replicate the feat of the campaign media team in his cabinet as government’s mouthpiece,” an impeccable source to PulseNets.

Also, it was said that Alake’s loyalty is unquestionable since he has consistently collaborated with Tinubu even after leaving office about twenty years ago.

Akume

George Akume, a former governor of Benue State and the present minister of special duties and intergovernmental affairs, is widely expected to succeed Sen. Abdullahi Adamu as the APC’s national chairman. With the post-election crisis that is progressively engulfing him and placing the party on the brink, it is pretty evident that Adamu is on his way out as the leader of the governing party.

According to information obtained, Akume, who joined the defunct Action Congress in 2011 and has been a political ally of Tinubu ever since, is viewed as the best candidate to succeed Adamu because of his extensive experience in party politics.

Moreover, Akume delivered for Tinubu and the APC in Benue State, where the party ousted the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), preventing the state’s current governor, Samuel Ortom, from resigning to run for the Senate.

Fashola

Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works, is also on the list, though only because of his involvement in the campaigns for 2023. Due to his extensive experience, advanced age, and moral reputation, the former governor of Lagos is being considered for the position of chief of staff to the president, just like Gbajabiamila.

It is thought that Fashola would succeed if he was permitted to continue wearing the same chain because he was a former commissioner and chief of staff to Tinubu, who served as governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007. Fashola was appointed as a minister of power, works, and housing under President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term after serving as governor, and then as a minister of works and housing in 2019.

Fashola oversaw the All Progressives Congress’ presidential campaign council’s organizing and monitoring of elections (APC).

“They see him as a key part of Tinubu’s success story in Lagos and it is believed that his wealth of experience at the federal level as minister will be of immense benefit to the incoming Tinubu administration,” our source revealed.

Fayemi

There are signs that Kayode Fayemi, the immediate past governor of Ekiti State, would be chosen to serve as foreign affairs minister.

Because of his wide network of non-governmental organizations and his positive relationships with foreign organizations, Fayemi, who served as minister of Solid Minerals Development during President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term, may be appointed to the position of minister of foreign affairs.

He had a significant role in Tinubu’s communication with the world throughout the current election campaign. When former African heads of state visited Tinubu soon after the election, he was also said to have played a crucial strategic role.

He will, however, have to compete with a few other important Ekiti state residents who are also up for a cabinet job.

Adeyeye

A ministerial position in Tinubu’s cabinet is also being discussed for the former minister of state for Works and former journalist, Adebayo Clement Adeyeye.

He may be nominated for the minister of information and culture position as a result of his expertise in journalism and his prior experience as a political party spokesperson.

Yet, he hails from the same part of Ekiti State as Fayemi, making the prospect of him becoming a minister uncertain.

Also read: Fuel Subsidy Removal: Labour Threatens To Mobilise Workers Against Tinubu Govt