President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to review and finalise the list of ministerial nominees for his second term in office, Newsflash Nigeria reports.
The list, which has been eagerly awaited by Nigerians, is still in the Presidential Villa and has not been sent to the National Assembly for confirmation.
Contrary to some media reports that the list had been submitted to the Senate last week and would be announced by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio this week, TheCable reports that Tinubu has cleared his activities for Tuesday, July 25 and Wednesday, July 26, to focus on the list.
The president does not want to be disturbed by visitors for the next two days, as he makes his final decisions on the nominations.
A presidency official told TheCable that most of the nominations are settled, but there are some states posing a challenge because of the candidates.
The source also revealed that the president is a chess player who keeps most of his decisions to himself till the last point.
“The president is a chess player. He keeps most of his decisions to himself till the last point,” the source said.
The president has till Friday, July 28, to submit the list to the Senate, according to section 42(a) of the constitution which states that “the nomination of any person to the office of a Minister for confirmation by the Senate shall be done within sixty days after the date the President has taken the oath of office”.
Meanwhile, sources told TheCable that one of the gaps Tinubu is trying to fill is the imminent nomination of the former Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje, as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ganduje had been pencilled down as a minister, but the forced resignation of Adamu Abdullahi as the APC Chairman led to further adjustments of the list.
Ganduje is seen as a loyalist of Tinubu and a strong mobiliser in the north. His nomination as the APC Chairman could boost Tinubu’s chances of securing a second term in 2027.
However, some APC members are opposed to Ganduje’s nomination, citing his alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
The president is expected to announce the final list of ministerial nominees on Friday, July 28.