Why appointment of ministers was delayed- President Buhari

Thursday, October 1, 2015 8:43 am

Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said his delay in the appointment of ministers was partly caused by the manner in which he took over power from the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan as well as the reorganization of government structures being undertaken by his administration.

The President said this explanation in a nationwide address broadcast live mark Nigeria’s 55^th Independence Anniversary that he was aware of anxiety and heat generated in Nigeria and abroad by the delay in appointing his ministers.

He however noted that the wait for the ministerial list is over with the submission of the names of first batch of ministerial nominees to the National Assembly in the speech in which the President also talked about the war against corruption, the war against Boko Haram, the economy and his administration’s efforts to bring transparency to management of financial resources.

The President added that his administration inherited a plethora of problems that are urgently seeking to be quickly addressed if the country must move forward in terms of growth and development.

“Fellow Nigerians, there has been a lot of anxiety and impatience over the apparent delay in the announcement of ministers. There is no cause to be anxious. Our government set out to do things methodically and properly.

“We received the handing over notes from the outgoing government only four days before taking over. Consequently, the Joda Transition Committee submitted its report on the reorganization of federal government structure after studying the handover notes.

“It would have been haphazard to announce ministers when the government had not finalized the number of ministries to optimally carry the burden of governance.

“Order is more vital than speed. Careful and deliberate decisions after consultations get far better results. And better results for our country is what the APC government for change is all about.”