Ministers in the cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan, who are not card-carrying members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party are currently panic stricken following a statement credited to the party’s National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur.
Tukur had in Bauchi last week said ministerial nominees, who were not card-carrying members of the party, would be denied ministerial appointments.
Tukur’s pronouncement came on the heels of an observation by the Deputy Senate Minority Leader, Abdul Ningi, who complained that non-members of the PDP were favoured in the choice of ministerial portfolios, to the detriment of members, who toiled for the party’s electoral victory.
Our correspondent reports that apart from PDP members, who are ministers, there are others, who are referred to as technocrats.
Many of them were invited from the Diaspora.
Among them are the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina; Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga; and Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Mobola Johnson.
It was learnt that Tukur’s statement caused a stir among the ministers, who sensed that they might be “sacrificed” ahead of the 2015 general elections.
A source said, “The ministers are justifiably worried. You know that the PDP is currently going through reconciliation ahead of the next general elections. You will also recall that the issue of the non-PDP people getting more opportunities than PDP members was one of the issues that came up during one of the reconciliation meetings.
“So an average person will take it that to make the reconciliation a genuine one, Tukur may want to enforce his declaration.
“Note that he (Tukur) will compile all the points raised at such reconciliation meetings across the country and present same to the President and the some other leaders of the party.
“The ministers’ panic is therefore justifiable.”
But another source added the President might not be favourably disposed to sacking the technocrats because they are holding strategic positions in the cabinet and are seen to be doing well by all standards.
But the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Monday, said the ministers had no reason to entertain fear.
He said, “Even if they are not PDP members, they are sympathetic to PDP government and that is why they are serving PDP government.
“So it is wrong to believe that they will be sacrificed. The claim has no basis, there is no truth in it.”
Meanwhile, member parties of the All Progressives Congress comprising the Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party, have berated Tukur for saying ministerial nominees must be card-carrying members of the ruling party.
National Publicity Secretary, Action Congress of Nigeria, Lai Mohammed, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said the statement showed the desperation of the PDP, which house was falling apart.
Mohammed said, “It is only going to get worse, if today you have to be a card-carrying member of the party to be a cabinet minister. What it means then is that favouritism, nepotism and sycophancy would be the qualities needed to be a minister. And that kind of situation will spell the worst for Nigeria.”
Similarly, the National Publicity Secretary, CPC, Rotimi Fashakin, described Tukur’s statement as unfortunate, saying such calls should not be made in an ideal democratic system.
He said, “It is definitely a very unfortunate statement; a statement that is not meant to be heard in this modern age and time.
“Do you mean that Nigerians that are qualified; that are good in a particular field, cannot be brought on to serve their fatherland without being card-carrying members of the party? Is he saying now that ministerial appointments should only be as a reward for partisanship?”
Also, the National Publicity Secretary, ANPP, Emma Eneukwu, said it was a PDP government being run in the party’s way. He added that the government’s failure was the party’s failure.
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