About one month after the Senate confirmed two new ministers, Stephen Ocheni (Kogi) and Suleiman Hassan (Gombe), the acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, has yet to inaugurate them.
The new ministers, whose names were forwarded to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari, were confirmed on May 3.
Four days after their confirmation, Buhari travelled to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.
He, however, wrote to the National Assembly based on Section 145 (1) of the nation’s constitution, intimating the federal lawmakers that Osinbajo would be in charge while he was away.
So far, the acting President has not inaugurated the new ministers despite the fact that, at least, four meetings of the Federal Executive Council had been held after their confirmation.
No official reason had so far been given for the non inauguration of the new ministers.
The slots of Kogi and Gombe states in the federal cabinet had been vacant following the death of the Minister of State for Labour, Mr. James Ocholi (SAN), in an accident on March 6, 2016; and the appointment of a former Minister of the Environment, Amina Mohammed, as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The nation’s constitution recommends that all states of the federation must be represented in the cabinet.
There is the belief that the inauguration of the two new ministers may lead to a minor cabinet reshuffle that would see some of the ministers swapping positions.
It was not clear as of the time of filing this report if Osinbajo would wait for Buhari to return from his medical vacation and inaugurate the ministers himself.
When contacted on Thursday, the Senior Special Assistant to the acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, simply said there was ‘nothing further to say’ on the matter.
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