Ministerial Slots: The Battle Of Godfathers, Godsons Begins

Emmanuel OgunremiApril 29, 2019

0 22 minutes read

As the May 29 swearing-in day for President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term draws near, moves are being made by power brokers on who gets what in the new cabinet to be formed. Onyema Godwin, INIOBONG EKPONTA, JUDE OSSAI, Ebenezer Adurokiya, Olayinka Olukoya, Bola Badmus, Kola Oyelere, Muhammad Sabiu, Olakunle Maruf and Oluwole Ige write on the moves being made in some states across the nation.

WITH the 2019 general election over, the various power blocs within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are back in their trenches. Another phase in the epic battle is over who makes the next federal cabinet, as the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, begins to wind down on his first four-year tenure.

In some state chapters of the parties, god fathers appears to have drawn a battle line with their godsons, in others the fight appears to be a straight fight between incumbent ministers and outgoing governors seeking refuge after leaving office on May 29, 2019. There is semblance of a dog fight between some APC powerbrokers and failed aspirants and candidates of the party during the last APC primaries and general election.

The list of the failed latter includes outgoing members of the National Assembly, who had fought gallantly at the polls but whose efforts came to naught. In all the instances, however, the dramatis personae have recruited proxies with no less pedigree to do lead the battle.

Majority of the members of the current federal cabinet have had the privileged of surviving minor shakeup by President Buhari at different times. This in spite sustained public anger over perceived their individual’s unimpressive record of their ministries in the discharge of their statutory functions. The President had consistently refused to succumb to pressure from different quarters, include his wife who made some unsavoury comments on the performance rating of the ministers and other top functionaries of the administration.

As lobbying intensifies at various quarters, the President is keeping Nigerians guessing on the likely character of his next cabinet; neither has he given an inkling on the timeframe for it to come upstream. There are calls that he rises above party patronage in the compilation of his ministerial nominees to be submitted to the ninth National Assembly, even as perceptive stakeholders demand a new touch of blood based on experience, ideas and vision capable of righting the wrongs of the past four years that has left the economy in doldrums.

A douse of the gender-related issues has also been injected in the public discourse of the names that should constitute the federal cabinet. Whereas organisations with bias for the female gender want the President to inch towards the Beijing advocacy of 30 per cent, wife of the President has also upped the ante. At a recent Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, held in Lagos she had frowned at what appeared dominance by men in politics. Her words: “It is worthy to note that there has been a progressive increase in female participation in the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme over the years, with a 41.6 per cent female representation in 2019. I wish the cabinet will have the same percentage. Women have continued to prove their strength and competence in our society in all spheres, even in male-dominated — not in politics.”

About two years ago, the o complained about the composition of the existing cabinet. In an interview she granted an international radio station, BBC Hausa service, she claimed most of the faces were hitherto unknown to her husband. “The president does not know 45 out of 50, for example, of the people he appointed and I don’t know them either, despite being his wife of 27 years. Some people are sitting down in their homes, folding their arms, only for them to be called to come and head an agency or a ministerial position,” she said.

The President derives his powers to make such appointments on the provisions of Chapter 6 Part 1 Section 147 of the 1999 Constitution. It reads: (1) There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President; (2) Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President. (3) Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:-provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each State, who shall be an indigene of such State.”

In Rivers, it’s battle between Amaechi, Abe

Though nothing seems to be heard or happening in Rivers State in relation with lobbying for ministerial appointments, a silent war is ragging on who gets the nod of the Presidency to be a cabinet member in the next tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The war is further boosted by the inability of the APC in the state to participate in the elections in Rivers State. Internal wrangling and legal controversies ensured that the party, torn between factions led by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; and Senator Magnus Abe, could not present candidates for elections in the state.

Incidentally, the current war for the ministerial slot of the state seems to be between the two, though nothing has been heard officially from either camp on their plans and expectations.

While many believe that Amaechi won’t encounter any problems returning as minister, because of his closeness to the president, others argue that if care is not taken, the “seen and unseen forces that worked against the party in the elections” may still rear their heads to completely route the minister.

For instance, Blessing Okoye, a political analyst in the state, believes that some of the forces that teamed up to frustrate Amaechi and APC’s plan on the 2019 elections are still fighting hard to ensure that he (Amaechi) does not return as minister.

She pointed out that even within the APC hierarchy at the national level, anti-Amaechi forces combined to frustrate the state APC, “all in an effort to whittle down the influence of the minister.”

She mentioned the discordant tunes sang by the party’s hierarchy in the heat of the controversies over its primaries upon which the courts based all their decisions that eventually ensured the disqualification of the party in the elections.

She concluded that it was only the continued goodwill of President Buhari that could ensure Amaechi’s return as minister, expressing the fear that beside the president, other members of the party hierarchy might not readily support his return, “since they party had nothing to show for his leadership, not only in Rivers State, but also in the entire South-South region.”

Her view that some unseen forces within and outside the APC were fighting against Amaechi seems to have been partially confirmed by a chieftain of the party in Rivers State, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, who, on Thursday, accused the state governor, Nyesom Wike, of budgeting a whopping N100 billion for a media campaign against Amaechi’s return as minister.

Eze, in a press statement made available to Sunday Tribune, claimed that sources informed of the plot, adding that the governor “has already assembled a team of sworn anti-Amaechi Peoples Democratic Party (PDP and other opposition elements, including Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, the National Chairman of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP); Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister; Mr Reno Omokri, a former presidential spokesman to former President Goodluck Jonathan; and Mr Imo Ikenga, the Congress of United Political Parties (CUPP) spokesperson; who are to be supported by Mr Emma Okah, Rivers State Commissioner for Information, with Senator Abe as coordinator of the project.”

He added that the primary target of the sponsors of the project, represented by the state governor, was to smear the image of the minister.

Eze lamented that since the ousting of President Jonathan from power in 2015, as spearheaded by Amaechi, “the beneficiaries of that deposed corrupt government have not forgiven him.”

Today, it has been argued that even without waiting to be formally commissioned, across media platforms, subtle campaigns have already been ongoing to sway public perception against the former Rivers State governor. Recently, a chieftain of the PDP, Amadi Dike; Sotonye Ijuye-Dagogo and Sunny Oburu, also PDP apologists, in different reports, castigated Amaechi with what watchers of events called “unkind words,” pleading with President Buhari not to reappoint Amaechi into his cabinet.

Amaechi has, however, expressed confidence that the plot and its execution would fail, noting that “they have already begun to fail right from the moment it was conceived,” because, according to him most Nigerians have come to understand that Amaechi, being one of the most critical factors to the ouster of the PDP from milking of the nation’s resources, will continue to be a target of attack from the reactionary elements that represent the former ruling party.

‘It may be the soft-landing for Akpabio in Akwa Ibom’

Even as he continues to challenge the outcome of the senatorial election in which he contested at the election petitions tribunal, the incumbent senator for Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District (Akwa Ibom North-West), Chief Godswill Akpabio, is said to be engaging in a two-pronged war in the battle for political relevance in the post-2019 era.

The former governor, who led the state between 2007 and 2015, lost his bid to return to the Red Chamber following his defeat by a former deputy governor, Mr. Chris Ekpenyong who was also in government between 1999 and 2005 in a contest he argued the outcome was heavily manipulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

One of his aides who would not want his name in print disclosed that the former Senate Minority Leader had been making some frantic overtures to President Buhari to facilitate his soft-landing using ministerial appointment.

According to him, some powerful emirs and influential Hausa-Fulani politicians are the arrow-head of Akpabio’s political horse-trading with the Presidency to ensure he gets fair bargain at the end of the day.

It was gathered that Akpabio is surreptitiously lobbying for the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs which Mr. Uguru Usani Uguru from Cross River State currently supervises as minister.

President Buhari, according to some political bookmakers in Akwa Ibom, may drop the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma, following what they described as his (Udoma’s) non-inclination to politics.

For instance, they recalled that “at the just concluded elections, he failed to deliver Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of the state to President Buhari and the APC, because he’s not connected to his people politically.”

“Even Udoma himself had told Nigerians that he was not a member of the APC, and that he was only called to serve in the APC-led government,” a community leader in Uyo, Chief Stephen Ita, recalled.

“Therefore, the reshuffling of Buhari’s cabinet may affect him, because he is already being seen as an outsider in the cabinet of Buhari,” he added.

“Governor Udom Emmanuel may not be a factor in the choice of who becomes the next minister to represent Akwa Ibom at the centre,” noted Dr. Edet Akpanobong, a retired teacher and research consultant.

He reasoned that “President Buhari, since he succeeded former President Jonathan in 2015, has not made any recourse to Governor Emmanuel’s input on who to pick as minister, chairmen and members of boards and commissions or for other appointments from Akwa Ibom State.

“It is on record that President Buhari, perhaps, due to the difference in political parties running Akwa Ibom and the centre, had never sought our governor’s position concerning the over 50 federal appointments meant for Akwa Ibom people as it used to be the case since the return of democracy in 1999.

“So, I believe the next set of Federal Government appointees from Akwa Ibom in the next dispensation after the May 29 second term inauguration would follow the same pattern without the influence of the governor,” he explained.

Against this back drop, analysts have tipped Akpabio to pick the job, if he eventually looses out at the tribunal.

APC needs a united house in Enugu

In Enugu State, the APC seems to be in a dilemma, since the abysmal performance of the party’s candidates in the just-concluded elections. Prior to the general polls, the state chapter of the APC had been polarised along two major divides over alleged untidy processes of the party’s primaries that produced the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Judicial Matters, Juliet Ibekaku, as Enugu West

Senatorial candidate and the gubernatorial candidate, Senator Ayogu Eze.

The fallout of the APC primaries escalated to the extent that two persons, George Ogara and Senator Eze, laid claim to the party’s governorship candidacy up to 48 hours to the gubernatorial election, a development that further brightened the chances of the PDP candidate, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, in the poll.

Informed sources revealed that the chieftains of the APC in the Coal City State are yet to put their acts together to collectively project any person for ministerial position as peace appears not to have fully returned to the party.

The differences among the front-line supporters of President Buhari in the state, including the director-general of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeama; and Lady Ibekaku are on public domain, as they accuse one another of sabotaging the efforts of the party in last general elections.

Ironically, Okechukwu, Ibekaku and Onyeama are some of the top names in the APC fold from the state tipped by some observers as possible ministers in the forthcoming political dispensation.

Perhaps, to have a common front, the National Vice-Chairman of APC, South-East Zone, Emma Eneukwu, has scheduled a meeting of stakeholders from the zone in Enugu on Saturday, April 27.

None of the APC chieftains in Enugu was ready to speak on the intrigues going in the party.

Intense lobbying ongoing in Nasarawa

As President Buhari gets ready to reshuffle his cabinet, personalities in Nasarawa State have been left out of the lobbying to form part of the cabinet.

However, in the reckoning of some political watchers in the state, Honourable Ahmed Aliyu Wadada has been described as the most likely person to represent the state as minister. They cited his contribution to the emergence of Mr. Audu Abdulahi Sule as the new elected governor of the state.

Wadada, was amongst the 11 men that contested in the governorship primary of the APC and he came second behind the governor-elect. He was immediately appointed as chairman of the campaign council, where he played key roles in uniting the party as well as securing victory for the party in the election.

Most analysts are of the view that Wadada›s loyalty may be compensated with the nomination to represent the state in Abuja.

Honourable Silas Agara is another person said to be suitable for a federal appointment, with his principal, Umaru Al-Makura, having picked the slot to represent the people of Nasarawa South at the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

Agara, who is the current deputy governor of the state, is also seen by pundits as another serious personality that could get ministerial appointment, as he also contested the governorship primary of the party but lost out. Being a faithful and loyal deputy to Governor Al-Makura, Agara may also be considered for ministerial slot with the influence of his principal and other members of the party.

Delta APC divided over ministerial slot

Intense scheming has begun in terribly-divide APC in Delta State. The party in the state, it will be recalled, gave some 221, 292 votes to President Buhari in the last presidential, a feat that was not achieved in 2015 presidential poll. The state currently enjoys the slot of the Minister of State for Petroleum in Dr Ibe Kachikwu. But with the swollen number of defectors from other parties and original APC members in the state, whether or not Kachikwu will retain his much-coveted position is not known.

DeltaImmediately after the presidential poll, one major way to identify the scheming for ministerial position by members of the factionalised APC in the state is the barrage of congratulatory messages in stories and adverts on the pages of newspapers. Such messages splashed in the media are believed to be primarily aimed at getting recognition ahead of the decision on who to grab the ministerial slot awaiting the APC members in the state.

As things stand, Kachikwu could be facing some tough times in retaining his position, given the myriad of allegations of anti-party activities hanging on his neck from some APC members from his zone, Delta North. He is believed to have secretly worked for the success of his kinsman and incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Okowa during the March 9 governorship election which the latter won convincingly. The accusations got to its peak shortly after the presidential election when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo visited APC stakeholders at Effurun to shore up electoral support for the APC governorship candidate, Chief Great Ogboru. Mr Kachikwu was booed publicly at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) Conference Centre and called unprintable names before Osinbajo. He was accused of hobnobbing with the PDP elements in the state.

Except Buhari remains undaunted as he is always wont to be, staying faithful to his conviction about a person, Kachikwu might not return, it is believed.

In the meantime, political watchers have identified defeated Chief Ogboru, former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and, of course, Dr Kachikwu as possible representative of the state in the next cabinet.

Others, however of lesser weight as it were, include Dr Cairo Ojougho, Chief Victor Ochei, Professor Pat Utomi and a few others. While Kachikwu might still enjoy the goodwill of Buhari, having been a “good boy” so far, Ogboru could be banking on pulling strings through APC national chairman and national leader, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Senator Bola Tinubu. The ‘Peoples General’ would want to grab a ministerial slot to enable him position himself ahead of 2023 governorship election.

Uduaghan, on the other hand, has his political career dangling precariously, if he’s edged out of the ministerial equation, having lost the Delta South Senatorial position to PDP’s James Manager. His current showmanship across the state and beyond, after his defeat at the polls, unlike his disappearance from the political scene shortly after the 2015 elections, betray him as fighting the battle of his political life. He is, however, believed to be banking on his seeming good relationship with Oshiomhole and Vice President Osinbajo to whom he has endeared himself.

Surreptitious moves in Ogun

In Ogun, lobbying for ministerial slot remains hazy. Ordinarily, the likely representative of the state would have been zeroed in on, but the political situation within the ruling party has made such calculation a herculean task, no thanks to the political quagmire caused by the outcome of last primaries of the APC ahead of the 2019 general election. There are no clear indications as to who is aspiring to be ministerial, because of this development.

Sources said if there are people seeking to be appointed as minister, such person might be doing that underground.

It is worthy of note that the state is not having any representative in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) since the resignation of the erstwhile minister of finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, late last year.

Adeosun was nominated by the outgoing governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, having served in his first term administration as commissioner for finance.

There was probably no nomination from the state, due to the power game between the vice president, Professor Osinbajo and Amosun. A factor believed to be responsible for this could be the fact that both had not been on the same page since before and after the elections.

The vice president is, however, a determining factor as far as who represents Ogun State in the FEC is concerned.

It was learnt from grapevine, however, that immediate-past Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Bimbo Ashiru’s name came up as the likely minister nominee from Ogun. But at the same time, his name is also being bandied around as the likely Secretary to the State Government (SSG) under the incoming administration of Dapo Abiodun.

Different power blocs in Ogun APC will have to harmonise and present a ministerial nominee, hence, the onus will lie on the president to pick his choice as in case of the incumbent Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, from Oyo State.

In Lagos, it’s between Fashola, Ambode

Who becomes the ministerial nominee from Lagos is not quite clear now. Lagos State is a peculiar environment where the choice for any political office at all is determined by the godfather of Lagos politics, Senator Tinubu, who is also the national leader of the ruling APC.

So, to that extent, nobody could confirm who and who the gladiators jostling for what, as far as ministerial slot is concerned. In real terms, no one could be said to have indicated interest in becoming the next minister under President Buhari from Lagos State.

What could be deciphered, however, is that the incumbent Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, is still showing some kind of fitness to continue in office. The former Lagos State governor, who is considered most valuable in Buhari›s cabinet, as he presides over three key ministries, has also not indicated that he would serve for just one term as he said when he was governor in the state. He had said during his first tenure that only one who failed a class repeated such class.

Notwithstanding, the incumbent governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, appears, through the closeness he currently enjoys with the president, good to make the list of ministerial nominees, all things been equal.

Ambode, it will be recalled, lost his bid to secure the APC return ticket at the last primary exercise. He lost to co-contestant, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, who later won the last governorship election and would be sworn in come May 29.

The governor, Mr. Ambode, only last Wednesday, had the opportunity of playing host to President Buhari when he invited him to commission some of the projects considered as legacy projects in the state, though some of them were yet to be completed.

Instructive and striking was the comment made by the president at the ceremony that Governor Ambode had performed satisfactorily and should, therefore, be commended.

The gathering witnessed the absence of key political players in the state, including Senator Tinubu.

The governor, it will also be recalled, played a key role in the reelection of President Buhari, being a member of Presidential Campaign Committee which went around the country with the president, selling him to the electorate. It was partly due to this engagement that he was always physically absent in most of the campaigns that later got the victory for the APC governorship candidate in the state.

Most of the state political players who were asked about the possibility of Governor Ambode making the ministerial nominees list, but who spoke on condition of anonymity, felt it was not possible, declaring that “the president would never do that, because doing that would amount to spiting the national leader, Senator Tinubu, who is considered as the alpha and omega of the party.”

This is just as others said the president was free to pick whoever he likes to work with him, recalling that Buhari demonstrated such capacity in 2015 when he picked the likes of Fashola, Kayode Fayemi, now the incumbent governor of Ekiti State; and Shitu, current minister representing Oyo State, among others, without reference to any political godfather.

Former deputy governor, 2 others eye slot in Kano

Three prominent members of the APC, current Minister of Interior General Abdulrahman Danbazzu (retd.), former senator representing Kano Central, Bashir Garba; and former deputy governor, Professor Hafix Abubakar, are those whose names are on the lips of analysts as possible nominee from Kano State.

The politicking going on within rank of the party is that the incumbent minister of interior should leave for another member of the party to be appointed as minister from the state.

However, a source who preferred anonymity disclosed that it would be an Herculean task to dislodged him, in view of his closeness to the kitchen cabinet of Mr. President.

Garba, who represented Kano Central on the ticket of the PDP, contested against former governor of the state, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and lost his re election. After Dr. Kwankwaso defected from the APC to the PDP, Senator Garba dumped his party (PDP) for the APC. His impression then was to contest the senatorial seat on the ticket of his new party, APC. He had put all political machineries on ground and had a great hope that he would be given the ticket, because as of then, no candidate was on ground to challenge him.

However, the political tempo changed, as a result of defection of former governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, from the PDP to the APC. The APC resolved to compensate Malam Shekarau with the ticket of Kano Central, thus, foreclosing the chance of Senator Garba.

A source disclosed that Garba was, however, promised ministerial position, but his emergence as the state nominee may be another hurdle to scale. He is, however, said to be in good book of the state governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

Professor Abubakar is also a force o be reckoned with as far as Kano politics is concerned. He was deputy to Dr Ganduje. He later resigned his appointment as second-in-command and joined the opposition party, the PDP.

However, his defection to the PDP was on the premise that the former governor, Senator Kwankwaso, allegedly promised him the gubernatorial ticket of the party. But he later lost the chance of being the governorship candidate of the PDP.

Having failed to clinch the ticket and in his quest to contest in the election, he moved to the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). Again, he lost and staged a comeback to the APC.

According to some party members, he was convinced to defect back to the APC with a promise of ministerial position. But to many people, the former deputy governor may not be favoured to get the ministerial slot from the state, “unless Mr. President decides so on his own volition.”

el-Rufai firmly in control of Kaduna

In Kaduna, the issue of ministerial slot does not appear pronounced. This is because the state governor, Nasir el-Rufai, is firmly in control of both the government and the party. The just-concluded elections have proved that, because he pushed his ardent critics like Senators Shehu Sani and Suleiman Hunkuyi out of the party.

However, the rumour doing the round is that the deputy governor-elect, Hadiza Balarabe, might be replaced by the outgoing Commissioner for Local Government, Professor Kabir Mato. Both Balarabe and Mato hail from the Southern part of the state. Like Balarabe, Mato too is a Muslim.

Findings showed that the deputy governor-elect will be made minister. Though there is no official reaction from government, a Government House source who pleaded for anonymity remarked that it was just a rumour, saying the governor wouldn’t do that.

“He promised to appoint more women and why would he drop her?” he queried. Another name being mentioned in connection with ministerial appointment is that of Hadiza Bala Usman, the present Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), one of el-rufai’s trusted allies.

It is believed that she will be compensated for her role in bringing back President Buhari.

Also being considered for ministerial appointment, according to a source, is the outgoing deputy governor, Yusuf Bala, who contested for the Senate and lost. It was gathered that the governor is really trying to get him a job at the federal level. It is not known whether the Minister of Finance, Zainab Shamsuna, will go back as a minister. But if she does not, findings indicated that she might replace the current governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) whose tenure will soon end. Another youth being considered for ministerial appointment is the outgoing Commissioner for Budget, Sani Dattijo, a young technocrat who was brought from the United Nations to help the governor. Pundits said, he is el-Rufai›s backbone.

Underground moves in Sokoto too

In Sokoto, there are underground moves to make the cabinet of President Buhari by some of the party bigwigs who have worked one way or the other to the success of the APC in the state.

A source who spoke with Sunday Tribune on condition of anonymity confirmed that the leadership of the party in the state was doing everything possible to nominate the right candidate for the position.

According to the source, “recollect what happened in 2015 when the current administration was compiling its cabinet members. The current minister who represents the state was never a known member of the party in the state. She was not known to be a card-carrying member of our party until she was named in the cabinet.

“We tried everything possible to make Mr President know this, but all our efforts were rebuffed until she was confirmed by the Senate. We later realised then the relationship that exists between her father and Mr President.

“We can only assure our party loyalist in the state that such mistake of 2015 will not be repeated this time.”

However, speaking with our correspondent, the state publicity secretary of the APC, Mallam Sambo Danchadi, revealed that the party had no preferred candidate.

He said the state chapter of the party had no say on who emerged minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, adding that “the issue of ministerial appointment is an issue of Mr President and the leadership of the party at the federal level. I believe Mr President knows who and who is good enough for his cabinet and we have a duty to support him on his choice.”

Meanwhile, some political analysts believe that the best possible material for the ministerial slot of the state is the chairman of the campaign committee and former minister, Honourable Yusuf Suleiman.

According to political analysts, the former minister is the best hand that can represent the state in the federal cabinet.

“He has the experience and capacity to perform excellently well at the federal level. Don’t forget that the state needs a representative who can unite the party and deliver the state for the APC at all levels in the state,” a source said.

Meanwhile, the belief in the state, among party faithful, is that whoever is to represent the state as a minister must have the backing of the leader of the party in the state, Senator Aliyu Wamakko, a two-term governor of the state.

Minimum lobbying in Osun

Unlike other states, scheming and struggle to get ministerial appointment in the cabinet of President Buhari is not much in Osun State.

Though, it is expected that chieftains of the ruling APC who worked for the victory of the party during the elections would be anxious to get rewards for their labour through appointments, the prospect of the immediate-past governor of Osun, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, to get the ministerial slot for the state is very high.

OmisoreHowever, findings by Sunday Tribune indicated that the current Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, who hails from Ilesa, has begun moves to retain his position in Buhari’s cabinet. Some of his foot soldiers are said to have been spreading their tentacles within the state chapter of the APC to buoy his chances of retaining the ministerial slot for the state.

But his lack of influence within the party structure, coupled with reported lack of political sagacity, may affect his chances.

Notwithstanding, baring any unforeseen event, our correspondent authoritatively gathered that it is almost certain that Aregbesola’s name may be forwarded to Abuja by the party leadership in Osun for the state’s ministerial slot.

Meanwhile, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that entered into a coalition with the APC during the last governorship election, which culminated in the victory of Governor Gboyega Oyetola at the poll is also lobbying to get compensation for its support in terms of appointments.

Recently, some of the leaders of the party, led by Chief Yemi Farounbi, paid a courtesy call on Oyetola in his office to declare their support for his government.

It is instructive to note that Ile-Ife, where the leader of the SDP/APC coalition, Senator Iyiola Omisore, hails from, has not got representation in the state government.

Sources informed our correspondent that some elements within the SDP were making underground moves to lobby for ministerial position, though it is not clear if their expectations may yield any positive result at the end of the day.

But, as of the time of filing this report, there are strong indications that Aregbesola who seems to have the cutting edge over other ministerial hopefuls may eventually pocket the slot for Osun.