Tasks Facing Buhari’s Ministers By Kehinde Abdulsalam
The ever-critical Nigerian public will keep a keen eye on the success of President Muhammadu Buhari new Cabinet.
Thirteen of the 43 Ministers served in the old Cabinet, and it’s expected that they’ll want to consolidate their plans and projects pending when their first tenure ended.
Many have been asking how the ministers will tackle the challenges confronting their ministries – Roots TV looks at the Cabinet’s priorities.
Minister of Petroleum Resources:
President Buhari with Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, head the Petroleum Ministry, which should serve as the cash cow, is in dire straits. There seems no end in sight to the official debate over refined petroleum products.
With the Dangote Refineries still in the pipeline, the Ministry, under the leadership of the President, failed in its first tenure to fix its dependence on imported petroleum products. This is despite being the world’s eight’s largest exporter of crude and 13th largest producer.
According to record by CBN in 2018, Nigeria spent $36.3 billion in five years on fuel importation. Buhari and his then Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, failing to bring the refineries back on stream as promised in 2017.
Buhari needs to make some courageous decisions. Instead of holding onto the four refineries with no future as state-run enterprises – privatise them.
The sale could stop perennial waste and help to unleash the potential for investment. Job creation is a spin-off expected from the sell-offs and liberalisation of the sector. All that’s needed is political will and sincerity.
Ministry of Works and Housing:
With Ministry of Power separated from Works and Housing, former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has the responsibility to continue from where he stopped with the infrastructure projects.
He had, at his screening on the floor of the Senate, said the lack of funding was the reason for non-completion of the infrastructural projects embarked on since he assumed office.
However, all eyes will be on the two-term Governor of Lagos to ensure that the 2nd Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan, Enugu-Akwa Road, Aba-Ikot Ekene Road, Okigwe-Owerri Road, Obajana-Ilorin road and others are completed in his second term in office.
The minister should prioritise Nigeria’s housing deficit, estimated at 17 million.
Ministry of Defense:
Insecurity in the Northern and Southern regions of Nigeria is alarming, and the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), is expected to bring his expertise to stem the tide.
Since 2009, the country had been fighting to end Boko Haram insurgency. Over 27,000 have been killed over the past ten years.
While the Federal Government claimed to have defeated the terror, pockets of attacks by the highly sophisticated Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) is frightening. Recently, ISWAP had launched daring attacks on military bases where scores of soldiers were killed. This ugly trend has remained a great source of concern for residents of the North East.
Also, the spate of kidnapping in the North West and the South are enormous tasks before the new minister of defence. What are the new initiatives he will bring on board?
To Be Continued