President Muhammadu Buhari, some outgoing ministers and governors have embarked on last-minute appointments, Saturday Punch revealed.
The newspaper also observed that Buhari and his ministers awarded contracts worth over N3.7tn in the tail end of their tenure.
Politics Nigeria gathered that the appointments and contracts were awarded between March 20, 2023 and May 14, 2023, after the conduct of the presidential and governorship elections across the country which produced Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress as President-elect and a total of 28 governors out of which 16 newly elected governors will take over from their predecessors, who will complete their constitutionally approved second term in office.
However, some of the outgoing governors made last-minute appointments in the same final lap of their tenure.
On May 17, 2023 Buhari appointed Paul Harris Ogbole (SAN), former member of the Board of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and ex-Chairman, Otukpo Local Government Council of Benue State, as a member of the Council for Legal Education for a period of four years.
On May 11, the President approved the appointment of a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Garba Baba-Umar, as a Senior Security Adviser on International Police Cooperation and Counter-terrorism in the Office of the Minister of Police Affairs. According to a statement issued by the Presidency, the appointment was made to enable “Umar complete his nationally beneficial tenure as an executive member of the INTERPOL.”
Just two days after that, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, announced the appointment of a Benue monarch as the Pro-chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa state.
Earlier on May 5, 2Buhari re-appointed the members of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund.
On May 3, the President, in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, asked the Senate to confirm the appointment of 12 nominees of the governing board of the North East Development Commission.
The day before, Buhari re-appointed Abike Dabiri-Erewa as the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission. The President also asked the Senate for the confirmation of six federal commissioners for the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission on the same date.
The Minister of Environment, Muhammed Abdullahi, also announced the appointment of a new coordinator for the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project on May 2.
A month earlier, Buhari through the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, appointed a new director for the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu.
He also re-appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the National Lottery Trust Fund, Bello Maigari, and the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr Gambo Aliyu, on March 24, while a new DG for the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency was appointed on March 21.
In Kaduna State, the outgoing governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who will be succeeded by his party man, Uba Sani, appointed 15 new judges on April 25. The judges included seven state high court judges, five Sharia Court of Appeal judges and three Customary Court of Appeal judges.
In Benue State, the outgoing governor, Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party, who will be succeeded by Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia of the APC, swore in a new Chief Judge for the state on April 11. The governor also appointed five new permanent secretaries.
In Sokoto State, the outgoing governor, Aminu Tambuwal, swore in 23 permanent secretaries and 15 director-generals for state-owned agencies on May 2.
Earlier on April 14, the governor had appointed 23 caretaker chairmen for the local government councils in the state.
In Cross River State, the outgoing governor, Ben Ayade, who will be succeeded by his party man, Bassey Otu, appointed five new permanent secretaries into the state public service on May 4.
In Abia State, the outgoing governor, Okezie Ikpeazu appointed a new rector for the Abia State College of Health on April 14.
The outgoing governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, approved the appointment of a provost for the state College of Health Technology on April 5, 2023.
In Kano State, the outgoing governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, appointed a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Attahiru Jega, as the pro-chancellor and the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Moshood Balogun, as the chancellor of the state-owned Sa’adatu Rimi University of Education. The Olubadan had earlier decorated Ganduje and his wife, Hafsat, with chieftaincy titles.
The appointments by Ganduje were announced on April 3, 2023.
In Katsina State, the outgoing governor, Aminu Masari of the APC, on May 8, appointed a new manager for the state-owned football club, Katsina United.
The governor also appointed a new vice-chancellor for the state-owned university on May 10, 2023.
The outgoing governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, appointed a total of 149 new village heads on April 30. According to him, the new village heads were appointed to work alongside the incoming administration for stability in the state.
In Taraba State, the outgoing governor, Darius Ishaku, appointed a new caretaker chairman for one of the local government areas in the state. The appointment took effect on April 11.
N3.7tn contracts awarded
Analyses by The Punch correspondents revealed that over N3.7tn worth of contracts were awarded between March 20 and May 14, 2023.
