Source: Nigeria News Direct Newspaper
Ahead of the much anticipated cabinet reshuffle by President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian NewsDirect learnt there is a growing cold war among the major actors of the party on whom to drop from the cabinet and who will be selected to replace the sacked ministers.
Sources close to the party told Nigerian NewsDirect that governors elected on the platform of the party are not happy that President Buhari did not carry them along while selecting the Ministers and members of the Federal Executive Council, especially, those picked from their respective states.
“It is an open secret that the President will reshuffle the Federal Executive Council when he returns from London and there is growing apprehension among the governors, party leaders and even the Ministers themselves, everybody wants to protect his interest now,” the source told Nigerian NewsDirect.
In the last two years, some people had become very powerful in the party and now have ears of the President, while others have lost considerable influence in the last two years, and the APC governors forum is now much stronger than it was two years ago,” another source told Nigerian NewsDirect.
One of the people who have grown in influence in the last two years is the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo. Nigerian NewsDirect reliably gathered that he had no nominee neither among the ministers and nor among the head of strategic government agencies. The only high profile government official close to him is his inlaw, Mr Segun Awolowo, the Director-General of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) who was appointed by the immediate past administration of former President Dr Goodluck Jonathan.
“However, it will be an entire different ball game as Osinbajo has grown from ‘not to be heard’ member of the government to a strong pillar of the government who is rattling the notorious Aso Rock cabals now that the President is on medical vacation”
Inside sources told Nigerian NewsDirect that the governors were prepared to confront the President if he pick someone without their consent in their states.
“The poor performance of the Ministers has given the governors leverage to ask for inputs in the selection of the Ministers” the source who refused to be named told Nigerian NewsDirect.
The party is also not happy with the selection process adopted by the President. The Chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun also lamented that some of the appointments made by Buhari were not pleasant to the party.
Although Oyegun lauded Buhari’s administration for performing creditably within the two years having rebuilt and gradually returned the economy to the present stage.
“I must be very honest and frank, the reward system and appointment hasn’t been as pleasant to the party as it ought to be, part of them haven’t been well thought out as it ought to be.
“We have cases which wouldn’t have happened where individuals who are in court with our elected officials, one case is a governor which is now at the Supreme Court but has been given appointments.
“We have cases at least one or two known current appointees of the PDP have been given. We have cases where in a particular state from the same local government, I think, going to the same ward, three people have been given appointments and these things and many more is that we have a lot of cases where faces not known to the party during the most difficult part of the struggle were offered appointments. So, it has caused a lot of disquiet within the party,” he said.
The President is expected soon in Nigeria after being discharged by his doctors over yet-to-be-disclosed ailment.
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