Beware of Nigerian ‘ministerial job’ lists circulating online — President Buhari has not assigned positions yet

One of the lists appearing predominantly on WhatsApp claims Buhari has appointed Festus Keyamo as minister of justice and attorney general, and shifted the previous incumbent Abubakar Malami to the interior ministry. It also says that Nigeria’s “super minister” Babatunde Fashola, who led the ministry of power, works and housing, has this time around only been handed the power brief.  

The list assigns portfolios to all the 43 minister-designates chosen by Buhari after they were cleared by the Nigerian Senate late last month. 

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A screenshot taken on August 6, 2019, showing a supposed ministerial list circulating on WhatsApp

Still waiting for a cabinet

Nearly five months after Buhari was re-elected for a second term, and seven weeks after his inauguration, the president’s cabinet picks were made public on July 23. While long, the selection process paled in comparison to the five months it took Buhari to name ministers after he was sworn in for a first term in 2015. 

The latest delay caused speculation to grow in Nigeria and conflicting lists of those chosen circulated ahead of the official announcement. All the lists were largely false. We’ve archived a couple of the posts sharing the lists here and here.  

When he eventually named his cabinet, Buhari followed standard practice by sending his choice of nominees to be screened by the Senate without appointing them to specific positions. The ministers were all successfully cleared by the Senate by July 30. But the president has still not given them jobs -- driving speculation and new lists to circulate. 

The lists have also been shared on Facebook and published by Nigerian blogs. We've archived some of them here, here, and here. 

How ministerial appointment works in Nigeria

Nomination: Under the Nigerian constitution, the president nominates people he wishes to work with as ministers. By law, he must appoint at least one minister from every state. So Nigeria should always have a minimum of 36 ministers, one from every state of the federation. Buhari has nominated 43 ministers -- the highest number in a cabinet in the country’s history. Former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan held the previous record at 42 nominees each.

Screening by the Senate: After the nominations are made to the Senate, the list is made public, and the Senate begins screening the nominees. If the Senate rejects a nominee, this person cannot be made a minister. Once the candidate has been screened, feedback is sent to the president. If the Senate has given the green light, the nominee is appointed, and portfolios are assigned. Critics of the system have said portfolios should be assigned before the screening by the senators. 

The state of play in August 2019

The screening was completed on July 30, and the cleared picks have been sent back to the president. But Garba Shehu, Buhari’s media aide, told AFP on Tuesday that the president has not yet assigned portfolios to the cleared ministerial nominees. 

This means Nigeria has been unable to hold a meeting of its ministerial federal executive council since May 29, 2019. The cabinet meetings are typically held every week when the government is formed.