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Nigeria: President Tinubu’s cousin, opposition party member get top ministries as portfolios assigned

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Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu on Wednesday evening assigned portfolios to his ministerial nominees.

The ministerial designation comes after weeks of screening by the Nigerian Senate before embarking on recess last week. According to the list showing the assigned roles of the nominees, the president’s cousin and an opposition party member got top portfolios.

A member of the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Nyesom Wike was assigned as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, while the predient’s cousin and former governor of Osun state, Gboyega Oyetola was assigned the transportation ministry.

Dele Alake, who is a renowned communication expert, and widely tipped as the minister for the Information Ministry, was made Minister Of Solid Minerals Development.

Other ministers and their designations are as follows: Minister Of Communications, Innovation And Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani; Minister Of State, Environment And Ecological Management, Ishak Salako; Minister Of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister Of Marine and Blue Economy, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo; Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; Minister of State, Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa; Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John.

Others are Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Anite; Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji; Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha; Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy; Minister of Works, David Umahi; Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo; Minister of Youth, Abubakar Momoh; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu; Minister of State, Gas Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo; Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, and Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh.

Also on the list are the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru; Minister of State Defence, Bello Matawalle; Minister of State, Education, Tanko Sununu; Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa.

Nigeria is currently faced with economic woes embodied by a cost of living crisis following the removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the currency. Nigerians would expect that the formation of the cabinet would fasten the execution of President Tinubu’s policies and soften economic strains in the shortest possible time.

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Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

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A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

 

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Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

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In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.

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