A shake-up of the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari is imminent. Exactly when the changes would be announced is not yet certain, but a credible source close to the presidency said it is expected to be soon after the National Convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), scheduled to hold on February 26, 2022.
The source who pleaded anonymity, said that a number of factors have made the reshuffle of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) inevitable.
First is the fact that some Ministers are either nursing ambitions to contest political positions or are waiting in the wings to drive the election campaign machines of those seeking offices. Such people cannot possibly combine their present positions with the hectic schedules of the presidential or governorship campaign trails, no matter what the law says.
Another reason, the source said is that the President would need technocrats who would not be distracted from core governance issues by political considerations to drive the last leg of his presidency. This, he said, is because the President would not want government to grind to a halt because of the politics of 2023. According to him, Buhari also wants to ensure that he continues to deliver democracy dividends till his last day in office.
Apart from former Lagos State Governor and leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo who have communicated their intentions to contest the presidency to Buhari who have supporters in the cabinet, some members of the FEC themselves who are known to be eying the presidential seat are Minister of Transportation, Chief Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, Minister of Works, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Minister of State for Education, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.
Some members of the FEC are also believed to have their eyes on the governorship positions in their states but though many of these personalities who are aspiring to elective positions, especially those eying the presidential seat, have not yet publicly declared their ambitions, their campaign posters and other election related materials and political machineries are already in the public domain.
The recent activities of some of them, like conferment of chieftaincy and other traditional titles and visits to traditional rulers and other leaders across the country are believed to be part of the bigger game of positioning themselves for the big race, or at least what many call consultation with critical stakeholders.
Most of them are said to be eagerly awaiting the outcome of their party’s upcoming national Convention, scheduled for February 26, 2022, which is expected to give an indication as to the direction the party will be tilting towards, especially on the issue of the zoning of the presidential ticket. Who becomes National Chairman, particularly, will determine which caucus within the party is having the upper hand and might even give an indication as to who among the aspirants would grab the ticket for the APC’s presidential race.
Where the presidential ticket will be zoned to is eagerly awaited by these aspirants and other stakeholders as it will significantly dictate the reaction of many of the aspirants. Some will, after the decision is made, refuse to resign from their cabinet positions if the zoning arrangement does not favor them while others will consider other platforms from which they may try to actualise their aspirations.
Already, the field is populated mainly by aspirants from the Southern part of the country because the popular position of leading socio-cultural as well as political groups in the country and the mood of the nation generally favour rotation of the presidency to the South.
Once the party’s National Convention is concluded and a decision on the issue of zoning is made, the race for the ticket of the party will begin in earnest and the cabinet will have to make do without those that have to be in the field seeking votes or canvassing votes for their principals and this is irrespective of the reported provisions of the Electoral Act that prescribes compulsory resignation by all office holders who desire to seek elective positions.
Besides, our source stressed that when the chips are down, the fault lines in the APC, between the legacy parties that came together to form the ruling party, especially the Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), will become more pronounced and will dictate who will remain and who will be eased out of the federal cabinet that is believed to be dominated by CPC members.
If his campaign kicks off, Asiwaju Tinubu’s supporters in the FEC, led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed may elect to step down to join the campaign train or may be eased out, same for supporters of Vice President Osinbajo in the FEC once he publicly declares his intention.
The traditional title of Dan Amanar Daura (Trusted son of Daura), conferred on Chief Amaechi by the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Faruk Umar, President Buhari’s hometown, last weekend was clearly a political statement, especially as his presidential campaign posters flooded the state and his supporters were chanting his name as their choice for the presidency.
The attacks on the property of Ogbeni Aregbesola in Oshogbo are also said to be linked to his as yet undeclared ambition. It is believed that though he has not mentioned his interest in the position, supporters of Asiwaju Tinubu whose close relative, Adegboyega Oyetola, is Governor of Osun State, see him as opposed to their principal who, incidentally, had been his political godfather in the past.
Visits to former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida by these aspirants or their supporters are also part of the buildup to the expected titanic battle ahead, even when the ‘Maradona’ has continued to ‘endorse’ literally all who have been to the Minna, Niger State Hill Top mansion.
Our source insisted that many of the members of the FEC who want to run for elective offices will stay on in the federal cabinet for as long as possible if they are not eased out in the imminent shake up because they do not want to lose out at both ends. But the die is cast. Once the National Convention holds, the whistle would have been blown and if the Electoral Bill is signed into law, there will be no going back. Both those who just want to be addressed as ‘one-time president aspirant’ and those who want to genuinely give the race a shot will have no option than to resign or be eased out. Whichever way it goes, President Buhari would then, compulsorily, have to reshuffle his cabinet to replace those who are going to run for elective offices, those who are going to be directly involved in driving campaigns and those who have not been performing optimally.
