On Thursday, July 27, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, received the ministerial list from the president’s office. Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President, presented the list to Akpabio at exactly 01:19 pm.
Twenty-eight nominees have made the list, including 21 men and seven women. Who are they?
Ministerial nominees
Abubakar Momoh
A lawmaker from Edo State. He was a former member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) before defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019.
Yusuf Maitama Tuggar
Tuggar is a politician and diplomat serving as the Nigerian ambassador to Germany. He hails from Bauchi state.
Ahmad Dangiwa
Architect and former CEO of the Federal Mortgage Bank. He’s from Katsina state.
Hannatu Musawa
Initially appointed by Tinubu as a special adviser on entertainment and culture, Musawa has now been upgraded to minister. She’s a lawyer and comes from Katsina state.
Uche Nnaji
A politician from Enugu state, Nnaji was the APC’s flag-bearer in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
Betta Edu
Edu is an APC national women leader and former commissioner for health in Cross River state.
Doris Anite Uzoka
Uzoka is from Imo State. Before her appointment, she was the state’s commissioner for finance and coordinating economy.
David Umahi
Umahi was the former governor of Ebonyi. He’s a senator in the tenth national assembly.
Ezenwo Nyesom Wike
Wike is a former governor of Rivers state. He was also a leading contender for the PDP’s presidential ticket before losing out and forming the breakaway group of PDP governors known as the G5 that opposed Atiku Abubakar’s ambition. He was instrumental, albeit in controversial circumstances marred by blatant rigging, to the APC winning the presidential election in Rivers state.
Muhammed Badaru Abubakar
Abubakar is the former governor of Jigawa state. He has also chaired presidential committees on fertilizer as well as non-oil revenue.
Nasir El-Rufai
El-Rufai is a former FCT minister and former governor of Kaduna state. He has served in various capacities in previous administrations and was a key ally to former President Buhari and now, Tinubu.
Ekperikpe Ekpo
Ekpo was a former senatorial candidate for the APC in Akwa-Ibom North West district. He would later step down for Akpabio, who emerged as Senate President.
Nkeiruka Onyejeocha
Onyejeocha is a lawmaker in the House of Representatives (HOR). She lost her position as deputy whip to a lawmaker from the Labour Party. She comes from Abia state.
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
Tunji-Ojo hails from Ondo state. He’s a former business and management executive who forayed into politics by becoming elected to the HOR in 2019.
Stella Okotete
Okotete was, before her appointment, an Executive Director (Business Development) at the Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank. A position she was appointed to by President Buhari. She has also served as a women’s national leader in the APC. Okotete comes from Delta state.
Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye
Kennedy-Ohanenye is a barrister from Anambra state. She famously ran for the presidential ticket under the APC before dropping out.
Bello Muhammad Goronyo
Goronyo is from Sokoto state. He was formerly of the PDP before he defected in 2019. Goronyo was a former commissioner of information and the Zonal Secretary North West of the APC.
Dele Alake
Alake, a long-time buddy of Tinubu, is the Special Adviser to the President, Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy. His position has now been upgraded to a ministerial portfolio.
Lateef Fagbemi
Fagbemi comes from Ijagbo, Kwara State. He is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Mohammad Idris
Idris hails from Niger state. He was a former commissioner for information and strategy.
Olawale Edun
Edun is a banker with a corporate finance, economics, and international finance background. He was a former commissioner of finance in Lagos under Tinubu as governor. Prior to his nomination, he was a special adviser to the president.
Waheed Adebayo Adelabu
Adebayo is a former deputy governor of the CBN and a former governorship candidate of APC from Oyo State.
Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim
Sulaiman-Ibrahim was born in Jos but was raised in Abuja. She’s a politician and businesswoman who has served as Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons under President Buhari.
Muhammad Ali Pate
Pate is a politician, physician, and professor of public health. Born in Bauchi state, he was a former minister of state for health. In February 2023, Pate was appointed Chief Executive Officer of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. He has, however, resigned his position to resume public office.
Joseph Utsev
Utsev has a background in engineering and hails from Benue state.
Abubakar Kyari
Kyari was a senator representing Borno North Senatorial District of Borno State from 2015 until his resignation in April 2022. He is a member and the acting national chairman of the APC.
John Enoh
Enoh is a former senator who hails from Cross River state.
Sani Abubakar Danladi
Danladi is a former acting governor and former senator whose tenure was shortlived after a Supreme Court ruling unseated him. He’s from Taraba state.
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