If things go as planned,
President Muhammadu Buhari will soon appoint more ministers into his cabinet. He also plans to make board appointments, obviously to assuage the feelings of his party members.
Buhari gave the hints of the new appointments in a speech delivered at Tuesday’s National Executive of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
There are presently 36 ministers, 14 of whom are junior ministers. Upon his inauguration in 2015, President Buhari had voted for a trimmed cabinet to avoid waste.
But wow faced with demands by his party for more inclusiveness and patronage, he said he would be shifting ground soon.
He promised to expand the Federal Executive Council “to bring in more supporters at Federal Level, with fresh ideas to be injected into the government.”
Similarly, the President also hinted he will be appointing more people to the boards of government agencies and corporations.
“Last year I said we would re-constitute the Boards of Parastatals. I must regret the fact that we have not done so, for many reasons.
“Some of us in this meeting may know I had given instructions since October 2015 for this exercise to start. But there have been inordinate delays through several Committees in an attempt to get the balance right and to make sure all parts of the country are equitably represented.
“On the other hand, I am keenly aware that our supporters are very eager for these appointments to be announced. By the Grace of God, these appointments will be announced soon. Especially now that the economy is improving, we will have the resources to cater for the appointees,” he said.