Abuja: Even with the quantum of criticism that greeted his statement that Nigeria at the moment can’t afford to pay 36 ministers in faraway India on Friday, last week, president Mohammad Buhari Tuesday in Abuja ruled out the possibility of assigning portfolios to all the confirmed 36 ministerial nominees by the senate.
Though he gave vent to the constitutionally mandatory 36 ministerial slots, he also reiterated that the economy was battered to accommodate the number.
This came as the senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki said that the idea of having ministers without portfolio was not entirely novel in the Nigerian political system.
President Buhari spoke when he received the second and last batch of the screened nominees from the senate president at the presidential villa in Abuja.
President Buhari receives the Official report of the Screening of Ministerial Nominees from Senate President Bukola Saraki in Statehouse on 3rd Nov 2015
Saraki had at a brief ceremony to mark the presentation stated that the senate had concluded the assignment.
Aware that the he had come under heavy criticism following his statement on the state of Nigeria’s economy, the president said he would continue to speak the truth about the economy.
He said: “Mr. President, we have finished the screening of the last batch of the ministers on Thursday and we waited for our vote of proceedings today which we finished this morning.
“I want to formally present the list of the 18 ministers who have now been cleared to you and that makes a total of all your 36 nominees that have been cleared by the Senate.
“I was just engaging the SSA to check in the record when last that has happened. So it must be credit to the nominees that were submitted and also credit to the Senate”.
Speaking after receiving the list, president Buhari also thanked the senate for a job well done.
“I thank you the President of the Senate for the work of the Senate leadership in our strive to follow the constitutional provision that states that the President should submit the names of those he wants to form the cabinet.
“If I can remember, there must be a member from each of the 36 states. That was why I limited the number of my nominees to that number, 36.
“The Senate worked extremely hard and they have passed all the nominees. I think there is some enthusiasm in some parts of the Presidency today that portfolios are to be given to the 36.
“The constitution certainly said there must be one member of the cabinet from all the states but the constitution did not say I must have 36 ministries.
“I will explain the details. Because of the economic imperative, to have a lot of ministers, substantive ministers, let me put it that way, whatever somebody speculated in some of today’s new papers, I think that the economy as I have seen it now since my sitting here for the last four months, that we are so much battered. Although some people are saying I am giving bad publicity and scaring away investors.
“Any investor who is interested in investing in Nigeria will seem to know more about the economy more than ourselves. So when I come and tell the truth about the position of the economy of the country, I am going out looking for investors.
“But I am confirming to them that we are truthful, that we need them to come and help us help ourselves by getting in industries, manufacturing and services. They know our needs. The economy of human resources, I believe will make them eventually come and help us.
“Mr. Senate President, I thank you very much for leading the Senate to do this hard work technically within record time. I assure you that we will follow the constitution and all the 36 will be sitting in the cabinet as the constitution stipulates”, he said.
