Key politicians, former governors, and members of the National Assembly have intensified their lobbying of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make the ministerial-nominees list.
OsunDailyNG reports that with the 60 days prescribed by the new amendment to the 1999 constitution for the president to submit names of persons nominated as ministers, Tinubu has until the end of July to submit his nominees.
According to Daily Sun, multiple sources reveal 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 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 a 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.
According to the source, former governors and senators from Ogun, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kano, and members of the infamous G-5 governors are among the 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.”
The source also disclosed that some of the lobbyists were in France to ambush President Tinubu, who is in the country for an official engagement, adding that the lobbyists went ahead of the president to France with the expectation of securing his attention.
He said: “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.”
