Barring any last minute change, former governor of Edo State, Prof Oserheimen Osunbor, and a career Ambassador from Taraba State, Amb. Musa Mohammed, may make the ministerial list to be submitted to the National Assembly for screening either this week or latest next week.
Both Osunbor and Mohammed are two of the three persons nominated from one of the political groups that worked for the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.
The political group, Elites Coalition for Good Governance with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume as the national leader, was said to have recommended three persons for ministerial position.
The third person nominated was a former Minister of Communications under President Muhammadu Buhari, Adebayo Shittu, from Oyo State, but his nomination appears to be having issues as the state governor, Seyi Makinde, was said to have been given the mandate to nominate someone.
Recall that Governor Makinde was among the then G-5 (Integrity Group) governors that worked against the presidential candidate of their party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in the February 25 presidential election.
Other members of the then G-5 Governors are former Governors Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.
It was reported that Makinde and Wike worked for the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
A source close to the Elites Coalition for Good Governance, which was before the election called Northern Elites Coalition for Good Governance, told Vanguard that the three names had been submitted as ministerial nominees.
The source further stated that the Northern Elites for Good Governance, which later changed to Elites Coalition for Good Governance to give it a national identity, worked assiduously for President Tinubu in the election.
According to the source, Northern Elites Coalition for Good Governance was fashioned after the group, with the name, “House-to-House,” with the aim of making people to be part of governance.
He explained that “House-to-House” was established to make people be aware of their responsibilities, including the right to ask questions from their leaders, for them to be aware of the fact that they had every right to know what their leaders were doing.
“We worked for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The present Secretary to Government of the Federation (Senator George) Akume was our national president and Ambassador Musa Muhammed from Jigawa State, Prof. Osunbor from Edo State, former governor, former minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu. In fact, we normally hold our meetings in his (Shittu) house.
“Three of our members have been tipped for ministerial positions. Prof. Osunbor, Musa Mohammed and Shittu. I don’t think his own (Shittu) will sail through but we are still praying.
“All the state coordinators from all the northern states and the southwest nominated the three persons and we asked our national executive to push it through.”
The source told Vanguard that Osunbor campaigned for Asiwaju, adding that immediately after the election “we now changed it to Elites Coalition for Good Governance.”
(Courtesy, excluding headline, Vanguard)
