The main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has maintained that ministers under the administration of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari will be useless.
Besides, PDP maintained that from the disposition of Buhari, it was clear that he does not even want to appoint aides; rather he wants to run the government as a sole administrator.
The opposition party further alleged that this informed the reason why President Buhari had been postponing the date when members of his cabinet would be appointed.
Speaking at a press conference, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, argued that consequent upon President Buhari’s disposition, those that may likely be appointed would not be respected by the President.
According to Metuh, The flip-flopped promise of our President to name a cabinet, a deadline which he shifted from two weeks of assumption of office to the end of September, is actually a reluctant pledge and done under great duress.
“From his hesitancy and comments, it is deducible that President Buhari never intended to appoint ministers, but rather prefers to run a monocracy and evidently does not value or respect those he would nominate as ministers.
“Otherwise, how can anyone repackage the mindset of the President when he, in an interview with France 24 Television in France, stated categorically that his preference is to rule without a cabinet and denigrated ministers as ”˜noise makers,’ who are of no importance or value in the running of an administration?
“Given this worrisome outlook, it is obvious that the Presidency will not attach any value or importance to the ministers under the new sheriff.
“The refusal to have ministers has resulted in the government conveying dictatorial inclinations as amply exhibited in its adamant stance in running a government without the statutory component of an executive cabinet, even when the negative consequences of this strange totalitarian approach are taking serious toll on the polity.”
Metuh stated that it was a further proof of the ineptitude of the handlers of the President on national and international issues. He also made reference to the recent case of the country’s absence at one of the meetings at the 70th United Nations General Assembly in New York where the issue of humanitarian crisis arising from the insurgency in Lake Chad countries which included Nigeria was brought up.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary added that, “Much more pathetic and shocking, but very revealing of the insincerity and ineptitude of those around the President, was the disconcerting excuse by an aide of the President in trying to explain away this blunder.
“Instead of admitting failure and apologising to Nigerians, the Presidency sought to hoodwink the public by claiming that the meeting was not one of the official events for which the President and his delegation are in New York, only for the official brochure of the meeting tagged, ”˜High Level Event on the Lake Chad Basin’, to show that ”˜high level representation from the government of Nigeria’ was scheduled to make contributions at the meeting.”
However, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Mallam Garba Shehu, claimed that the meeting was a side event and not an official meeting.
According to Shehu, “It was not true that the meeting was a high-level meeting. High-level meetings are attended by Presidents. Only the Secretary-General can call high-level meetings. The meeting called by Stephen O’Brien, an Under-Secretary General, is a right step in the right direction.
“Unfortunately, there is no record of any invitation to the Nigerian Mission as confirmed by our Permanent Representative in UN, Prof. Joy Ogwu.”
