Lagos, 10 other states await ministerial nominees as S/South produces highest number

Eleven states await their ministerial nominees as President Bola Tinubu’s first batch of ministers-designate were announced by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Thursday.

The states include the President’s home state Lagos, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Gombe, Kano, Kebbi and Kogi.

Others are Nasarawa, Osun, Yobe and Zamfara States.

Section 147(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) stipulates that the “President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state”.

Female ministerial nominees who are married, often take their home state, with the exception of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who was nominated for her husband’s Abia State in 2003.

Going by recent past experience, one more ministers are appointed from each geographical zone of the country, which then makes the number of cabinet ministers go up to 42. The list of 28 ministerial nominees already have that reflected with North East, North West and South-South producing additional nominees.

Bauchi (North East), Katsina (North West) and Cross River States (South-South) each have two nominees. Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar and Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate are both from Bauchi State, just as Prof. Ahmad Dangiwa and Barrister Hanatu Musawa hail from Katsina State; and Dr. Betta Edu and Senator John Enoh are both from Cross River State.

Considering recent trend one more additional ministerial nominee is expected from North Central, South East and South West zones.

So far, South-South has the highest number of nominees – six. These are from Cross River (two) and one each from Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, and Rivers.

North West and South East each has five nominees from Katsina (two), and Jigawa, Kaduna and Sokoto (North West); and Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States (South East) each having one nominee.

North Central, North East and South West each have four nominees so far, represented by Benue, Kwara, Nasarawa and Niger States (North Central); Bauchi (two), Borno and Taraba (North East); and Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo and Oyo States (South West).

Here is a list of nominated ministers and their states: