Na’Abba, Turaki others may replace sacked ministers

President Goodluck Jonathan’s strategists and close associates have begun pushing for the appointment of grass-roots politicians to replace the nine sacked ministers. The PUNCH gathered in Abuja on Thursday that the strategists and aides believe that states, whose governors are considered hostile to Jonathan should produce persons who are politically astute and brave enough to take on their governors’ political structures. In Kano for example, it was learnt that a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Umar Na’abba, and a former aide to the President, Dr. Akilu Ndabawa, were being considered for the state’s ministerial slot. There is no love lost between Na’Abba and Kwakwanso. It was even speculated at a time that the President almost nominated Na’Abba for ministerial position at the beginning of his tenure but was allegedly advised against it by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. Ndabawa, on his part, is considered “brave” enough to take on the Kwankwasiyya, the governor’s political organisation. This, according to a source, is because he was once a member of Kwakwanso’s inner caucus and still had friends within it. In Jigawa State, a former governor of the state, Alhaji Saminu Turaki, may stage a comeback to the political scene. It was learnt he had a private audience with Jonathan during his recent visit to Kenya. “The ex-governor could be considered because he is a grass-roots politician,”our source said. The source however expressed fears that Turaki’s ongoing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission could pose a challenge to his nomination for ministerial slot. A former member of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Senator Mohammed Alkali, is also said to be among those being considered. He was elected Senator in 1999 and contested for governorship position in the state in 2003 with the support of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, now Governor Sule Lamido. He tried again in 2007 but the PDP decided Lamido was the man for the job. His decision to challenge Lamido during the 2011 governorship election cost him his traditional title of Sardaunnan Gumel. Another possible candidate is a former member of the House of Representatives, Abba Anas, a one-time secretary of the PDP in the state. He fell out with Lamido during the twilight of his stay in the House of Representatives. In Sokoto State, Senator Abubakar Gada, who is currently the Political Adviser to the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, may be among those being considered. He challenged Governor Aliyu Wammako for the PDP ticket during the 2011 governorship election. His political difference with the governor is an open secret. The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, had in an interview on Thursday, said Jonathan merely exercised his powers to “hire and fire” when he relieved nine ministers of their appointments. He said “Mark you; it is in this country that some administrations change ministers almost every six months. “Now you have a President that has left people at their posts for two years plus, there is nothing unusual about him wanting to rejuvenate his cabinet. It has nothing to do with 2015.” One of the President’s strategists told one of our correspondents on the telephone that “the Jonathan administration cannot pretend any longer as it has decided to bring in politicians who can wrest the PDP structures from their state governors before the 2015 polls.” Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress has dismissed the cabinet shake-up by the President, saying it is nothing to celebrate. The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told journalists in Abuja on Thursday, that the sacking of the ministers was a script ahead of the 2015 general elections. He also wondered if it was a coincidence that most of the sacked ministers were from the states of the aggrieved governors. Mohammed said “Is it by simple coincidence that most of those who were relieved of their positions were those seemed to be perceived opponents of Mr. President, or who have close contact with the New PDP, or is the game about 2015?” Women activists under the aegis of the National Coalition on Affirmative Action have said the sacking of five women ministers by Jonathan contravened his postulation on gender balance and 35 per cent affirmative action. The Chairperson of NCAA, Oby Nwankwo and Executive Director of Women Advocates ‘Research and Documentation Center, Dr. Abiola Akiyode, called on the President to ensure that women were evenly represented in his cabinet. “The news of a cabinet reshuffle came as a surprise to the whole country, however, what is of most concern was that five out of the nine ministers who were relieved of their portfolios were women,” they said in a statement on Thursday. The statement was also endorsed by the Gender and Constitutional Reform Network; International Federation of Women Lawyers; the Legislative Advocacy Coalition on Violence Against Women; the Women Consortium of Nigeria; the Women’s Aid Collective; the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre and the Gender Action Team. PUNCH