As Nigerians await the nomination of 13 remaining ministerial nominees, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila has hinted that President Bola Tinubu will create new ministries.
Gbajabiamila, while speaking with State House correspondents on Thursday in Abuja noted that Nigerians should expect another list of 13 ministerial nominees in the coming days.
According to him, 12 or maybe 13 will be forwarded to the Senate in the coming days.
He said the cabinet should be fully formed and functioning within the next two weeks.
Gbajabiamila added: “Work should start in earnest for them in the next week or two because I don’t see the Senate wasting too much time in the confirmation, not because they’re not going to do a thorough job, they will do a thorough job.”
He explained that the names sent to the Senate were without specific portfolios attached to give the President enough flexibility to decide who handles what portfolio.
The former lawmaker stated: “I like the idea of attaching portfolios because it makes it necessary for the Senate to know exactly what you’re asking and looking for.
“As good as that sounds, it straitjackets the President to pigeonhole one person in an office or the other. What happens if he changes his mind? Do you then bring the person back for screening again? This is because the President is at liberty to change his mind.
“But for now, it’s been thought wise that we stick to the tradition of sending the names and then while the screening processes are going on, it allows Mr President and his team to look at the portfolios and the characters and see how they fit.”
“Mr President intends to separate portfolios or restructure the ministries in such a way that you might be hearing of new ministries that were not standalone ministries before.”