Tinubu’s Loyalists Unhappy With Inclusion Of Ex-Governors In Ministerial List

Loyalists of President Bola Tinubu are reportedly not happy that the president allegedly nominated recently past state governors on his ministerial list.

The said allies of the president who are not happy with the development are both in the All Progressive Congress (APC), while some are not card-carrying members of the party.

Their unhappiness is said to be based on the possibility that the ex-governors would damage the administration’s reputation, according to sources who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune.

The said loyalists Believe that the ex-governors have what they described as multiple “bad optics.”

Hence, several people close to the president are concerned that the appointment of the ex-governors to the federal cabinet may not be consistent with the administration’s pledge to provide a quality of service that is genuinely different.

Concerned supporters of the president believe that the alleged inclusion of the immediate past governors of Kano (Abdullahi Ganduje), Rivers (Nyesom Wike), Kebbi (Atku Bagudu), Kaduna (Nasiru el-Rufai), and Nasarawa (Tanko Al-Makura) represents a continuation of the past and could weaken the new administration’s already tenuous public support.

“What is the political weight and relevance of the former governors now in their states? Nigerians would simply think Asiwaju isn’t serious if he should go ahead to announce these former governors as ministers. But we wait”, a source told Nigerian Tribune.

Numerous North-Central states are feeling the effects of the ongoing covert campaign against the former governors, in which the interplay between ethnicity and religion has taken centre stage in opposing narratives supported by contending groups.

The battle between Al-Makura and Engineer Abdullahi Sule, his estranged follower and the governor of Nasarawa State, is said to be the worst yet.

However, Al-Makura’s name is listed first on Sule’s list of three ministerial candidates. However, Nigerian Tribune claimed that the former governor’s name was added at the request of the state’s traditional institution.

In a statement released last month, the former governor said he gave up the position as a personal sacrifice for the stability of Nasarawa and Nigeria.

Al-Makura, the current front-runner for the ministerial position, would occupy both the ministerial office and a senate seat at the federal level if he is made a minister.

The main Eggon ethnic group is raising the most controversy in the state, claiming that the minority Hausa/Fulani/Kanuri have dominated the minister position and other federal appointments up to this point.

Meanwhile, the secret campaigns against the inclusion of recently past state governors in Tinubu’s ministerial list could cause the composition of the federal cabinet to take longer than the legally permissible 60 days, according to the Nigerian Tribune.

Reports claimed that the names might be presented in batches to avoid breaching the constitutional deadline.