Buhari warns ministers-designate against waste, lawlessness
President Muhammadu Buhari has warned
incoming ministers against wastefulness and
lawlessness with an announcement expected
soon over which ministries they will be
assigned and their formal inauguration.
Buhari, who was elected on a promise to
root out endemic corruption, has been
criticised for taking nearly five months
to put together his senior ministerial
team.
Names were finally submitted at the end
of September but final approval from the
Senate was not secured until last week.
“The need for observing the rule of law
is being emphasised to ensure that
impunity is removed from government
conduct,” Buhari told the group before
the meeting.
“It is expected that we make the running
of government at all levels as lean as
possible, avoid waste and conserve
resources.”
Nigeria’s constitution stipulates that
ministers must come from each of the 36
states of the federation but Buhari has
been thought to want to slim down the
number of ministries.
He has also hinted that not all the
successful nominees will be given
portfolios.
Buhari, a former oil minister under
Olusegun Obasanjo in the 1970s, has
said he will personally take charge of the
oil sector, which he is seeking to
transform to cut rampant corruption
and mismanagement.
But he said diversifying the economy,
which depends on crude for 90 percent
of foreign exchange earnings and more
than 70 percent of overall government
revenue, was a major priority.
Nigeria — Africa’s biggest economy and
number one oil producer — has been hit
badly by the fall in global crude prices.
Mining and agriculture were highlighted
as potential drivers of revenue and
employment, he added.
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