The long-awaited announcement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet ministers will become a reality in July after the National Assembly completes its leadership processes and lawmakers resume from recess.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, disclosed this in an interview with The Guardian on the sidelines of the just-concluded meetings of the African Export-Import Bank in Moscow.

Buhari will place the issue before the National Assembly as quickly as possible, Mustapha declared, explaining: “Our system is unique. We have an executive system where your membership of a parliament denies you the opportunity of being a minister, unless you resign from parliament.

“Mr. President is working on his list or must have concluded. He mentioned in his Democracy Day broadcast that he is going to assemble competent Nigerians to help him implement his programmes.

“He was inaugurated on May 29. We had the Democracy Day celebration on June 12. It was a choked-up programme as we had to work towards the emergence of the leadership of the National Assembly because there is nothing you can do if their leadership does not emerge.

“So far, we have part of the leadership that has emerged. The other part will emerge after they return from their recess. They are reconvening on July 2 and it is when they reconvene that we expect they will finish other complements of their leadership.”

Mustapha said further: “There are other key officers needed in the introduction of an executive bill. You don’t go directly to the Senate President; you only write to him. It is the Majority Leader, who represents the party in the Senate that has the responsibility of introducing the bill, and he has received the list too.

“I believe that within the month of July, he will submit the list. It is then up to the Senate to do the needful and conclude the exercise. I keep emphasising that if you have a very good leadership in the National Assembly, these things can be finished in a period of one week or two.”

But findings by The Guardian show there might be less hope for a cabinet before October, especially with federal lawmakers threatening to stay away from the National Assembly if their allowances are not paid. (The Guardian)

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