Bukola Saraki presenting the list of the confirmed ministers to President Buhari
ABUJA - President Muhammadu Buhari, after receiving the list of
screened ministers from the Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Tuesday,
November 3, 2015, restated that some ministers will be without portfolios. The president made this disclosure after receiving the list
at the presidential villa in Abuja.
He had earlier on spoken about the possibility of some
ministers who had been screened, to be without portfolios because Nigeria
cannot afford to pay all of them. President Buhari insisted that there would be no jobs for
some screened ministerial nominees, because although the constitution
stipulates 36 ministers, the available ministries were not up to that number.
He said:
“I thank you the President of the Senate for the work of the Senate leadership in our strive to follow the constitutional provision that states that the President should submit the names of those he wants to form the cabinet.
“If I can remember, there must be a member from each of the 36 states. That was why I limited the number of my nominees to that number, 36.
“The Senate worked extremely hard and they have passed all the nominees. I think there is some enthusiasm in some parts of the Presidency today that portfolios are to be given to the 36.
“The constitution certainly said there must be one member of the cabinet from all the states but the constitution did not say I must have 36 ministries.
“I will explain the details. Because of the economic imperative, to have a lot of ministers, substantive ministers, let me put it that way, whatever somebody speculated in some of today’s new papers, I think that the economy as I have seen it now since my sitting here for the last four months, that we are so much battered. Although some people are saying I am giving bad publicity and scaring away investors.
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