The camp of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has lambasted the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Presidential Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over an endless list of ministerial nominees, presently numbering about fifty.
News Band earlier reported that President Tinubu, in a last minute change, picked Mr. Festus Keyamo, the APC presidential campaign council spokesman and former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, as minister.
According to a letter read by the Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio, during plenary session confirming the last minute change, Maryam Shetty from Kano State who earlier made the ministerial list was kicked out of the supplementary ministerial nominees that was submitted to the Senate on Wednesday by the President.
Her exit made way for the former Labour and Employment Minister of State to be squeezed into the list.
On July 27, 2023, News band also reported that the Nigerian Senate announced a 28-man ministerial nominees from Tinubu.
The Chief of Staff to the President and former Speaker of the House of the Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, presented Tinubu’s ministerial list before the Senate.
However, on Wednesday, August 2, Tinubu presented a supplementary ministerial list.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives submitted the second list to the Senate President on behalf of the president, bring the total to about fifty.
Reacting to the “49 ministers and still counting”, a legal practitioner and the presidential spokesman to Atiku Campaign Organisation for the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Daniel Bwala, took a swipe at Tinubu.
Mr. Bwala compared “Nigeria as one of the poorest counties in the world with 36 states” and Tinubu’s 49 ministers with that of the United States as the largest economy, military on earth, its fifty states and a total of just 24 cabinet members.
Taking to his Twitter handle, @BwalaDaniel:
“The US as the largest economy, military and possibly states (50) on earth, has a total of 24 cabinet members, 15 are ministers referred to as secretaries, nine are SAs referred to as non-secretary cabinet members.
“Nigeria as one of the poorest counties in the world with 36 states has 49 ministers and still counting; 22 SAs and still counting.
“As it stands today the council chambers seats would not contain FEC meeting. They may need to use the eagle square or national stadium for FEC meetings.
“That’s how our hopes are being renewed,” he mocked.
—