Forty days after six ministers left the federal cabinet to contest the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari has named their replacement to fill the vacant posts.
Buhari, in the letter addressed to the Senate President Ahmad Lawan, read on the floor on Tuesday sought the confirmation of the nominees. The president nominated seven persons. The seventh nominee is to replace the former Minister of Agriculture, Sabo Nanono, who was sacked in September last year.
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Daily Trust reports that six former ministers who resigned to contest for primaries include; Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Uche Ogah, Minister of State, Education, Emeka Nwajiuba and Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Tayo Alasoadura.
The president, in the letter, explained that the confirmation request was in accordance with the provisions of Section 147 subsection 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
The nominees are: Henry Ikechukwu Ikoh (Abia State); Umana Okon Umana (Akwa Ibom State); Ekumankama Joseph Nkama (Ebonyi State); and Goodluck Nana Opiah (Imo State).
Others are Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub (Kano State); Ademola Adewole Adegoroye (Ondo State); and Odum Odi (Rivers State).
A ranking senator told Daily Trust that the confirmation hearing of the nominees is slated for next Wednesday.
“All of them will be screened next week Wednesday,” the lawmaker said.
Enter the minister designates
Umahi’s loyalist replaces Onu
The nomination of Joseph Ekumankama was received with mix-feelings in Ebonyi State.
Ekumankama, a former Commissioner for Intergovernmental Affairs, is considered as one of Governor David Umahi’s loyalists.
Earlier, there were insinuations in some quarters that Onu’s replacement would come from the old bloc of APC in the state. There are two blocs in the state’s chapter of the APC; the new, which belong to the governor and the old, the Onu’s camp.
Our reporter learnt from some of Onu’s aides and political loyalists that APC stalwarts in Ebonyi and Umahi prevailed on president Buhari to appoint someone else other than Onu.
Ikoh: PDP rebel who mobilised support for APC
The son of a late military captain, Chief Henry Ikechukwu Ikoh, Ozurumba 1 hails from Ahuwa Oboro in Oboro clan in Ikwuano LGA of Abia State.
He had served as commissioner under the administration of a PDP-led government in Abia State from 2015 to 2020, before he joined the APC after resigning from PDP over what he called irregularities in the party congress.
After joining the APC, he served as zonal Vice Chairman of APC, South East Zone, mobilising support for his new party.
In the recently held primaries, he lost his bid to fly the flag of the party as a candidate for Abia Central Senatorial District to Chief Sam Onuigbo from the same Oboro clan.
Chief Ikoh declined to comment when our correspondent sought his opinion on his nomination as minister designate. In his words; “No comment, no comment I will speak with the press later”.
Odum: Amaechi’s loyalist get compensated
Reactions have continued to trail the nomination of the former Chairman of Abua Odua Local Government Council, Udih Odum as a minister designate. Sources from his Abua Odua LGA described the minister designate as a philanthropist and a strong ally of Amaechi.
Another resident of Odua who simply gave his name as Akari said the new minister designate impacted on many youths of the local government area.
Umana: Stopped by Akpabio from becoming Akwa Ibom gov
Umana Okon Umana, a ministerial nominee from Akwa Ibom State is currently the Managing Director of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA).
Umana started his career as a lecturer in the School of Basic Studies, Akamkpa, Cross River State, from where he transferred his services to the Akwa Ibom State Civil Service.
He rose from being the Director of Budget in the State Budget Office to Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance and later Commissioner of Finance during the administration of Obong Victor Attah as Governor.
Umana became Secretary to the State Government during the administration of Senator Godswill Akpabio as Governor, where he served for six years.
When he could not get the nod of Akpabio to pick the governorship ticket of the PDP in 2015, he defected to the APC, where he was defeated by Gov. Udom Emmanuel.
Opia: Uzodinma’s man to replace Nwajiuba
Proposed to represent Imo State in the federal cabinet is Nnanna Opia who will take the spot of Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba who resigned to contest for the APC presidential ticket.
Until the nomination of Opia, supporters of Nwajiuba were still optimistic that he would be reinstated given his close relationship with the president.
Opia, who is from Ohaji Egbema, is the Special Adviser on Petroleum Matters to Governor Hope Uzodinma.
He had earlier served as the chairman of Imo Oil Producing Areas Development Commission.
Opia is an ex-Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, and former representative of Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta, Oru West in the House of Representatives.
Adegoroye: From royal contestant to ministerial nominee
He is an Akure Prince who had contested for the Deji of Akure stool at a time. He was also a member of the state House of Assembly during the reign of late Chief Adebayo Adefarati as the governor of the Sunshine state. Adegoroye had contested for a seat in the House of Representatives but lost.
The 55-year-old legal practitioner was an active member of the Alliance for Democracy and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before the merger to form the APC. He is from Akure, the same area as Hon Tayo Alasoadura, the immediate past minister from the state.
He was the governorship candidate of AC in 2007. The former director, Odua Investment Holdings Ltd is the Acting Chairman, Governing board, Federal Medical Centre, Gusau, Zamfara State. He is married with two children
Meanwhile, the Deji of Akure Kingdom, Oba (Dr.) Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi has hailed the nomination of Adegoroye by President Buhari.
The Oba in a press statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Adeyeye Michael yesterday, said the kingdom received the news of the nominee with utmost joy and appreciation considering the fact that Adegoroye is a tested and trusted patriotic and detribalised Nigerian with humility, diligence, committed, intelligent, industrious and innovative which is the hallmark of an Ondo State citizen.
El-Yakub, from N/Assembly liaison officer to a ministerial seat
Several top sources in the APC as well as the Kano State Government House told Daily Trust that the appointment of El-Yakub was because of his closeness to President Buhari.
This, according to the sources, followed the similar pattern adopted by the president in nominating Kano indigenes for federal appointments where the state government played little or no role.
One of the sources said “You can hardly see El-Yakub in any Kano political event, at least not ones with Governor Ganduje in attendance but that does not mean he is not grounded locally. Don’t forget he had represented Kano Municipal at the House of Representatives in the past”.
But commenting on the nomination, Zakari Sarina, the Secretary of Kano APC said El-Yakub is a part of the Kano APC family.
“He is a loyalist and we are proud of him and grateful to the president for nominating him”, he added.
By Abdullateef Salau, Zakariyya Adaramola (Abuja), Clement A. Oloyede (Kano), Abdullateef Aliyu (Lagos), Bola Ojuola (Akure), Linus Effiong (Umuahia), Victor Edozie (Port Harcourt), Iniabasi Umo (Uyo), Jude Aguguo Owuamanam(Owerri)& Nabob Ogbonna (Abakaliki)
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