President Muhammadu Buhari has reacted to the circumstances that surrounded the screening and final confirmation of former Rivers state governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.
President Buhari said he did not walk into the presidency alone hence he cannot work alone and that he has never meet some of those having problems at the National Assembly.
He stated this in an interview with Channels TV and Nigerian Television Authority in New Delhi in India said that he is working with a team of people introduced to him by others that he trust and must work with them.
He further said that his government and Nigeria cannot afford to pay forty two ministers and that not all the minister nominees that have been screened will have portfolios as he will reduce the numbers of ministries.
‘This is team work I said I know people but there are people that I accept from other people in our team that I trust without even knowing them.
‘May be those that are having problem in the National Assembly I doubt if I have meet him in my life but then I am working with others.
‘I did not work into the presidency alone. I have to defend on all the three tiers of government from all part of the country.
Backing the 36 Minister nominees Buhari said that he can not work out outside the constitution and that ministers must be appointed in conformity with the constitution of the Federal Government in that ministerial appointment must reflect the 36 states of the country.
And that these minister nominees though representing their sates some will not have portfolios but will be part of his cabinet.
‘We can not work outside constitution there must be a cabinet representative from each state.
‘There use to be forty two minister but I think we can nearly keep have half of that now because we can not afford it. Other may not be substantive ministers but they will seat in the cabinet because that is what the constitution said and we can’t operate outside the constitution
We are reducing the number of ministries we can’t afford to pay.