Let The Chess Begin- Jonathan nominates Gusau, Obanikoro, Haruna, Wali, 8 others as ministers

President Goodluck Jonathan,yesterday, sent names of 12 ministerial nominees including four women to the Senate for confirmation. Jonathan also, for the first time in the history of the country, sent the names of newly appointed service chiefs to the Senate for confirmation.

The service chiefs are Air Marshal Alex Badeh, Chief of Defence Staff; Major General Kenneth Minimah, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin, Chief of Naval Staff and Air Vice Marshal Adeola Amosu, Chief of Air Staff. Two of the ministerial nominees are from Kano State. The ministerial nominees, after confirmation, are expected to be deployed to fill the vacant positions created following the sack of 11 ministers by the president late last year and the resignation of Dr. Mohammed Pate, as Minister of State for Health, last year. The nominees are former National Security Adviser, NSA, General Aliyu Gusau, rtd, Zamfara State; former governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Boni Haruna, representing his state; current Nigerian Ambassador to China, Aminu Wali (Kano) and former Nigerian Ambassador to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos State). Others are Hon. Mohammed Wakil from Borno State, Alhaji Abduljelili Oyewale Adesiyan from Osun State, Hajia Jamilla Salik (Kano), Mrs. Akon Etim Eyakenyi (Akwa Ibom), Mrs. Lawrencia Labaran Mallam (Kaduna), Dr. T.W. Dagogo (Rivers), Asabe Asmau Ahmed (Niger) and Dr. Khaliru Haruna (Sokoto). Jonathan, in his letter dated Monday, January 20, 2014, said he acted in line with Section 147 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended on the ministerial nominees while his second letter entitled, “Appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs for the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” which asked the Senate to confirm the service chiefs was in compliance with the provisions of Section 18 (1) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap.A.20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. The Senate President received the two letters yesterday and subsequently read them at the plenary. The President asked the Senate to give expeditious consideration to the two letters. Last September, the President dropped nine ministers-six senior and three junior in what was considered a major cabinet reshuffle. They were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru; Minister of Education, Professor Ruqqayat Ruf’ai; Minister of National Planning, Samsudeen Usman; Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ama Pepple; Minister of the Environment, Hajia Hadiza Mailafia; and Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Bassey Ewa. The ministers of states affected were those of Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada; Agriculture, Alhaji Bukar Tijani; and Power, Alhaja Zainab Kuchi