Barring any last-minute change of arrangements, Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is set to become President Goodluck Jonathan’s Minister of Finance in the yet to be constituted Executive Council of the Federation, EXCOF.
Okonjo-Iweala, Sunday Vanguard learnt, is already clearing her desk at the International Monetary Fund, IMF, where she is presently working as managing director, preparatory to assuming duties here in Nigeria.
It was not clear at press time if the concession by the president to give the finance portfolio to her was at her request or purely Jonathan’s initiative. Okonjo-Iweala had served the Obasanjo administration also as the finance minister only to be redeployed to the foreign affairs ministry before her dramatic resignation from the cabinet and return to the IMF, her former employers.
Also, Jonathan has reportedly forwarded another list of 12 ministerial nominees to the State Security Service, SSS, for screening.
Prominent on the fresh list of ministerial nominees sent on Friday by the president to the SSS are the former Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga and immediate past deputy governor of Osun State, Madam Olusola Obada.
Sources inside Aso Rock Presidential Villa disclosed, last Friday, that the president sent the fresh list of 12 names to the SSS for screening late Friday.
It would be recalled that penultimate Friday, a list of 20 nominees was sent to the SSS for security clearance.
At the time of sending the list of the 20 nominees, the SSS had cleared 11 others in a list earlier sent. One of those cleared in the list of 11 and who is expected to man the agriculture ministry “is reputed to be one of the best in the field in Africa”, a source said.
There has been a silent form of contestation between technocrats and politicians on who should populate the government of Jonathan. The reason for this is the argument by politicians that they were the ones who worked for the electoral victory of the president and not technocrats who stood idly bye during the elections.
Although some names were being bandied last week as having passed security clearance, Sunday Vanguard gathered that, contrary to those reports, some of those names never appeared on any list.
Sunday Vanguard was reliably informed that “whereas there is intense lobbying going on, the president and commander-in-chief is determined to ensure that those who would be appointed ministers this time around would be those who would make the difference with a view to moving Nigeria forward”.
Culled from : The Vanguard Newspaper
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