Nigeria’s President-Elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday gave an indication of the factors that will determine the kind of people he will appoint into his cabinet when he finally takes over from President Muhammadu Buhari on 29 May 2023.
In a statement he issued in Abuja, Tinubu said character and competence will be the major criteria for appointment into his cabinet.
He said he will also appoint young people and women into his cabinet, while warning that religion will not be one of the factors he will consider.
Tinubu, a two-term governor of Lagos State, added that in putting his cabinet together, politics will take a back seat to the imperatives of governance.
He said rather than form a government of national unity as many have been calling for, his focus will be to form a government of national competence that can provide solutions to the numerous challenges afflicting the country.
“As your incoming president, I accept the task before me. There has been talk of a government of national unity; my aim is higher than that. I seek a government of national competence. We have walked through the thick of the night to emerge into the light of brighter days to come,” he said.
Tinubu said there was no good reason to retreat into the darkness of years past.
“There is time to complete the task, but time is also of the essence, we must not tarry or fret over the enormity of what we face. We are able of mind and body. Now, we must show the spirit and willpower to accomplish the historic things that lie within our grasp.
“In selecting my government, I shall not be weighed down by considerations extraneous to ability and performance. The day for political gamesmanship is long gone. I shall assemble competent men and women and young people from across Nigeria to build a safer, more prosperous and just Nigeria.
“To secure the country and make it prosperous must be our top priorities, we could not sacrifice these goals to political expediencies. We have bridges and roads to build not just for commerce and travels, but to connect people of different faiths, parties and different outlooks in harmonious dialogue and common purpose.
“We have families to feed not just to eliminate hunger, but to nurture enlightenment, civic responsibility and compassion. We have jobs to create not merely to put people to work, but to afford all a better standard of living by which families and communities are improved and democracy deepened.
“We have water to replenish not just to quench physical thirst, but to ignite a thirst for creative and better solutions to society’s challenges. We also have a nation to protect to eliminate danger and even the fear of danger,” he said.
Tinubu assured that under his leadership, Nigerians would be able to live their lives in the light of peace and the glow of broadening prosperity.
He said an important step toward restoring economic normalcy had been taken by the Supreme Court’s decision on the parity of old and new naira notes. This, he said, had restored both the rule of law and economic decency, although it is “not the end of the story”.
“It is merely the beginning of a more comprehensive solution to our economic challenges. Our Renewed Hope Action Plan outlines goals for greater economic growth in our cities and rural communities.
“We are committed to an economy of double-digit Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, greater food security and one with a strengthened manufacturing base.
“We are also committed to an active digital economy where young people will have ample space to fulfill their dreams and aspirations. I realise that I am the servant of a larger purpose, as such, I have gone straight to work,” Tinubu said.
The President-Elect said his team had been engaged in discussions and meetings, refining ideas and policy solutions so that it could begin actively working toward the common good immediately he assumes office.
“The Nigerian project beckons to us all to work together as Nigerians for Nigeria, those who voted for us should continue to believe in our policies and plans for the country. I also ask that you reach out to your brothers and sisters who did not vote as you did, extend to them the hand of friendship, reconciliation and togetherness. To those of you who did not vote for me, I ask you to believe in Nigeria and in the capacity of your fellow citizens, even those who voted differently than you.
“The better Nigeria I seek is not just for me and my supporters. It is equally yours. I do not ask you to abandon your political preferences, that would be undemocratic. I do beseech you to answer the call of patriotic duty as the loyal opposition.
“If we all play our proper roles, we would begin the task of rebuilding our national home together, day by day, brick by brick, notwithstanding our political differences, as such, the victory of national progress would belong to all of us. This is our country, this is our moment, we dare not waste it, nor do we back away to accept a lesser version of ourselves and of our collective fate.
“We can no longer be satisfied with calling ourselves the giant of Africa, we must devote ourselves to doing those great and historic things only a giant can do.
“As your president-elect, I shall do my utmost in this regard for this is my sworn duty. I call upon you to come bravely forth as well.
“Not for me, but out of abiding love of country and for the people who inhabit it with you,” he added.
