Amid clamours for the constitution of a Federal Cabinet in order to give economic thrust and policy direction to Nigerians, the Presidency has stated that it is lawful for President Muhammadu Buhari to take all the time he needs in appointing a cabinet.
According to a statement from Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, the President is not yet ready to constitute his cabinet.
Adesina speaking to Vanguard reporters said, “The appointment of Ministers is constitutional because the constitution prescribes that there must be a Minister from at least one state of the federation and President Mohammdu Buhari will do what is constitutional. So, he will constitute a cabinet.
“But then when he does it is his prerogative. He is the one who will determine when he needs that cabinet. But for now, he has said that he wants to lay a proper foundation for the administration and that’s why he has been working with bureaucrats; the various Permanent Secretaries.
“For the past two week and still going forward, the Permanent Secretaries have been briefing him on the state of their ministries and then, I am sure at the fullness of time, the Ministers will be appointed.”
Sources within the All Progressives Congress (APC) speaking to The Herald said contrary to claims from the Presidential spokesman, the reason for the delay in appointment of ministers was due to intense lobbying “like never seen before” on the President for certian individuals anointed by party bigwigs to emerge.