•Seek place in cabinet, parastatal boards
From Fred Itua, Abuja
Ahead of the official announcement of the ministerial-nominees by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, key politicians, former governors and members of the National Assembly, have upped their lobbying.
According to a new amendment to the 1999 Constitution, the president and governors must submit names of persons nominated as ministers or commissioners within 60 days of taking the Oath of Office for confirmation by the Senate or state House of Assembly.
This means President Tinubu and all the governors must submit lists of nominees for ministers and commissioner by the end of July.
With barely five weeks left before the expiration of the new constitutional mandate, President Tinubu is expected to forward names of ministerial-nominees to the Senate for confirmation.
The Senate, currently on a three-week break, is expected to reconvene in the first week of July, ahead of the screening of ministerial-nominees.
Daily Sun gathered from multiple sources that former governors who are current senators, are among lobbyists for ministerial slots. The source listed over six out of the 14 former governors serving as senators in the 10th National Assembly. He said over 90 percent of those lobbying for jobs left office in May upon the expiration of their tenure.
The source listed a former governor from the South East, who contested for the position of the president. He said the former governor who is a first term senator has been lobbying Tinubu’s men to be appointed minister.
The source also listed former governor from North Central State, who is in the Senate as a first timer. He said the former governor who left office in May is at loggerheads with his predecessor in office over the ministerial slot for the state.
He said though the former governor performed woefully when he held sway and also refused to support President Tinubu’s presidential ambition, he is bent on getting nominated.
Extending his dragnet, the source listed former governors and senators from Ogun, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kano and members of the infamous G-5 governors as top lobbyists for ministerial slots.
He revealed: “There is serious lobbying going on right now. Former governors who just finished their tenure want to hijack the administration of President Tinubu. The sad thing is that many of them are new senators.
“They want to dump their seats in the National Assembly and settle for the position of ministers. They’ve been lobbying seriously, using different people to get the attention of the President.
“Some of them are already at loggerheads with their predecessors because they still want to decide who to get positions at the Federal level. This is the situation.”
He said some of the desperate lobbyists were in France to ambush President Tinubu, who is in the country for an official engagement.
The source, a close ally of the president said the desperate lobbyists went ahead of the president to France with the expectation of securing his attention.
According to the source, the lobbyists have also taken their act to first class traditional and religious leaders to prevail on President Tinubu to appoint them into his cabinet.
“In Zamfara, Kaduna, Kano and Ogun State, former governors from there are battling to serve as ministers in Tinubu’s administration. Some of them were hoping to be named in recent appointments made. Since they’ve lost out, they’re not ready to take anything for granted. In one state, former governor and former senator are at loggerheads on who to be nominated into the cabinet of Tinubu. They’ve employed every means to achieve their aim.
“In Kano, you know the game there; former governor who is very unpopular is lobbying to regain relevance. He’s worried that the president may bypass him and he has been lobbying seriously.
“Same thing for Ogun State where a former governor wants to be a minister even though he’s currently holding a position. He may not get it, though he has contacted traditional rulers to lobby for him.”
A former governor of Imo State, former senator from Anambra State, and a popular politician from Okigwe zone who has held several positions, including being a commissioner between 2007 and 2011, are reportedly leading a revolt against Governor Hope Uzodimma over his alleged inability to support their ministerial appointment bids.
The revelation came after the said individuals met in Anambra recently to fashion out means and ways to wage their war against the governor,.
According to a source privy to the meeting, the former governor from Imo reportedly said Governor Uzodimma did not support his desperation to become a minister.
Apart from ministerial slots, lobbyists are also jostling for board appointments.
Meanwhile, the Coalition of South South APC Voice (COSSAV) has urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure that only individuals with track records of performance constitute his cabinet.
Mrs. Winifred Chuku, convener, gave the task at a news conference on in Abuja. “We urge Mr. President to carefully select only those with good track records performance, accountability, transparency and young sharp minds of APC members in South South region.”
“As the criminality of oil theft and vandalism of petroleum infrastructure continue to affect the production of crude oil, adequate security will be needed to further stem activities of this economic saboteurs,” she said.
She added that this was the essence of the renewed hope for the region.