Nigeria’s Ministerial Nominees List Expected This Week as Constitutional Deadline Looms

With only five days remaining until the end of the 60-day constitutional window, anticipation is building as the Senate expects to receive the list of the President’s ministerial nominees this week.

Tope Ajayi, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, revealed in an interview with The PUNCH on Sunday that the “Ministers’ List will be out this week. Let’s wait until the names are out.”

According to the 1999 Constitution, the President is required to submit the names of ministerial nominees within 60 days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate. As President Tinubu was sworn in on May 29, he must submit his ministerial list to the Senate before July 29, as mandated by law.

The delay in the release of the ministerial list has raised concerns among Nigerians.

Responding to these concerns, Yemi Adaramodu, the spokesperson for the Senate, reassured the public in Abuja on Sunday that there is still ample time for the upper chamber to screen the ministerial nominees within the stipulated time frame. He emphasized, “We know that Nigerians are eager to behold the executive team that will breathe oxygen into our economy and make life more abundant for us all. We are unarguably within the constitutional cover. The Senate shall surely do the needful and won’t disappoint Nigerians.”

Earlier, Sunday PUNCH had reported that the names of the ministerial nominees would likely be unveiled by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary this week. The nation awaits this announcement with anticipation, hoping for an executive team that will address the country’s pressing challenges and drive economic growth.