Nigeria’s Future – President Tinubu Names Cabinet Nominees, Federal Executive Council on Track to Resume

With only one day to go until the 60-day deadline, President Bola Tinubu squeaked in his partial list of nominees for the presidential cabinet on Thursday, 27 July. The list, which included 28 names, will ultimately include at least one nominee from each of Nigeria’s 36 states, as required by the constitution. The approval process began on Monday, and 14 North has learned that when all is said and done, Tinubu will appoint 42 ministers to serve in 25 cabinet-level ministries.

Federal Executive Council (FEC) on track to resume weekly Wednesday meeting—but country frustrated about delays

Now that nominations are in, expectations for the FEC—the principal presidential advisory committee—are sky-high as it sets out to reconvene and begin running the country. All ministers are part of the FEC, the core decision-making body that will shape Nigeria’s future.

Nigerians remain frustrated about delays, partial lists, and incomplete details about nominees. Indeed, the list was a long time coming—a senator from Tinubu’s All Progressive Congress (APC) party hinted that the list was in flux until the morning it was presented to the Senate. Part of Tinubu’s struggle in choosing nominees stems from his political allies gravitating to roles as APC chairs—and not to the cabinet—after forced resignations made APC chair roles available.

Who are the presidential nominees?

Consistent with our prediction in an earlier newsletter, Tinubu’s ministerial choices consist of a mix of his long-term political allies, technocrats, and governors who were influential in his victory.

We now have more granular details about the background of some of the appointees: four are former governors, three are Tinubu’s special advisers, three are former ministers, one is a sitting senator, one is a member of the House of Representatives, and another is a serving ambassador. Another crucial group of nominees includes current and former party officials such as Abubakar Kyari, Betta Edu, Mohammed Idris, and Bello Mohammed Goronyo. We also know that nominees representing the southwest geopolitical zone include Olawale Edun, Dele Alake, Adebayo Adelabu, and Lateef Fagbemi.

The presidency has not disclosed details on the specific ministry assignments for each nominee. However, we know that some appointments are more likely than others. For example, we expect Olawale “Wale” Edun to lead the Ministry of Finance. Edun—a long-time Tinubu associate—was Tinubu’s Commissioner for Finance when Tinubu served as Governor of Lagos. He is currently the Special Adviser on Monetary Policy.

We also think Mohammed Ali Pate will be appointed Minister of Health. Pate, a former Minister of State for Health, garnered some attention this past June when he resigned as CEO of the Geneva-based Global Alliance for Vaccinations (GAVI) because of his wish to “return and contribute to his home country.”  Pate represents a contingent of nominees from outside Tinubu’s party—Pate ran against APC in the 2019 Bauchi state gubernatorial elections.

The Minister of Information will likely be Dele Alake, recently appointed Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy.

Restructuring of energy ministries

We also learned that Tinubu plans to restructure the ministries focused on the energy sector. Specifically, Tinubu will fold the Ministry of Power with the upstream and downstream gas aspects (just unbundled by the Buhari administration in 2021) of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources into the current Ministry of Energy. At the helm of the new ministry will be Nasir El-Rufai, supported by a minister of state. El-Rufai is a former minister and Kaduna State Governor currently writing a doctoral thesis on Nigeria’s power sector. As a member of the country’s National Economic Council (NEC), El-Rufai headed the 2019 ad-hoc committee investigation into failures in the electricity supply.

This ministerial role will answer directly to the president, showing just how vital the power sector is to Tinubu’s presidential ambitions. El-Rufai has been entrusted with toppling one of Nigeria’s most longstanding barriers to its growth and given plenty of the tools to give him a fighting chance to accomplish what many other administrations have failed to do—power Nigeria’s economy.

Tinubu appoints ministers from outside of APC

As the example of Pate illustrates, Tinubu also looked outside of his party to flesh out his nominee list. For example, the list includes Adebayo Adelabu, a former Central Bank deputy governor who ran against the APC in the 2023 Oyo State elections for governor. The most controversial nominee from outside Tinubu’s party is Nyesom Wike, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart, former governor of Rivers State, and former Minister of Education and Minister of State. Wike was a thorn in APC’s side until the 2023 elections. Wike also led the G-5 group of governors who opposed PDP’s presidential nominee Atiku Abubakar. He is hugely influential and, alongside the G-5, was a crucial contributor to Tinubu’s victory. Wike’s nomination could lead to him being forced out of the PDP, putting the PDP in a position to rebuild without him and his allies.

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