Rotimi Amaechi, Godswill Akpabio and other President Buhari`s ex-ministers who resigned to contest the All Progressive Congress (APC) primaries may have lost any hope of returning to the cabinet.
This is following the emergence of a new nomination list the president has recently sent to the Senate for confirmation.
The new list contains names, which is suspected to be those the president seeks to appoint in replacement of these ex-ministers.
A look at the new list, which Clariform reporter just obtained from a Channel Television report shows that some of the new nominees are from the same states of origin as the ex-ministers.
The new list, which President Muhammadu Buhari included in a new letter written to the Senate contains the following seven ministerial nominees:
“Henry Ikechukwu – Abia State, Umana Okon Umana – Akwa-Ibom State; Ekuma Joseph – Ebonyi State; Goodluck Nana Obia – Imo State; Umar Ibrahim Yakub – Kano State; Ademola Adewole Adegorioye – Ondo State; Odo Udi – Rivers State.”
Clariform was informed by a reliable source in the APC that the ex-minister have been lobbying heavily to return to the cabinet following their failure to secure the party ticket for the 2023 election.
These ex-ministers include, the Ministers of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu; and the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.
Others are the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN); Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Uche Ogah; Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen; the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Tayo Alasoadura.
They all resigned to run for the APC presidential ticket for the February 2023 election. This was following a directive from the president mandating all ministers participating in the APC primary to immediately tender their resignations, or to do so before the 16th of May.
The president`s directive came after the Court of Appeal dismissed a suit challenging Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act (as Amended). The section prohibits appointees from participating in a convention as a delegate or nominee.
Clariform reports that Rotimi Amaechi, the former two term governor of Rivers State went all out to contest the APC presidential primary where he came second runner up, beating others, including the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, but loosing woefully to Senator Bola Tinubu, who emerged with a very distant victory.
On the contrary, Godswill Akpabio, also two term governor in Cross River State did not contest in the election, but stepped down for Bola Tinubu openly at the venue of the APC primary.
