The National Assembly is set to unveil the list of his ministerial nominees sent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu after 50 days in office.
The list will be read out by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during Wednesday’s plenary.
According to Guardian, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Magaji Tambuwal, received the letter containing the list from the Presidency on Tuesday.
As mandated by law, the President is obligated to submit the list of ministerial nominees within 60 days of assuming office. After Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29, he has until July 26 to fulfill this requirement.
According to insider sources at the Presidency, the ministerial list had been prepared well in advance, but recent adjustments have been made to ensure its utmost effectiveness.
The list of ministerial nominees has been ready since, but the President had to make some changes in some states,” a reliable source posited.
When asked to reveal the nominees, the source simply said: “What I can tell you is that the list is here now. On the content of the envelope, only the Senate President can open it and as such I can’t speculate about the nominees.”
A ranking senator, who was reached to confirm the story, however, said he had no knowledge of the development.
He said: “Why are you in a hurry? If the list is here (in the Senate), the Senate President will read it out tomorrow. If not, all of us will keep waiting for it.”
But when reminded that the President has less than 10 days to transmit the list of nominees, the lawmaker said: “I can tell you that before this Thursday, the nominees will be made known to Nigerians.”
According to another source, the first batch of nominees to the Senate is ready for confirmation just to beat the July 26 constitutional deadline.
The source said: “He will subsequently forward more names to the Senate for confirmation after the deadline.”
Nigerians have been eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the ministerial list, leading to the circulation of various speculative lists in recent weeks.
Nonetheless, President Tinubu has skillfully guarded his choices, leaving the public in suspense as to who will ultimately secure portfolios in the final list of cabinet members.