President Muhammadu Buhari has met with Federal Executive Council (FEC) members seeking elective offices in 2023 General Election, and thanked them for their services to the nation, affirming that a majority of them have been sufficiently equipped to aspire to higher elective offices, including the office of the President.
Buhari while speaking at the Council Chamber in Abuja on Friday, in a valedictory meeting for the appointees leaving the cabinet to vie for positions in the forthcoming election, commended the departing public officers for serving the nation sacrificially with dignity and honor.
“I have no doubt that if the next President emerges from among former members of this cabinet, like any other aspirant, ample competence and outstanding service delivery would be on display. This will be part of our legacies to Nigerians,” he declared.
The President admonished the remaining members of the cabinet to be more diligent and committed to the success of the administration, adding that Ministers who resigned from his cabinet to pursue their political ambitions will be replaced “without delay”.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting with the outgoing Ministers, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed that ten ministers are leaving.
Present in the meeting were: Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio; Minister of State for Mines and Steel, Uche Ogar, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen.
Others included Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami and the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu. However, former Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba who just resigned, was absent with reason.
According to Lai Mohammed, some of the ministers have tendered their resignation while the others are in the process of doing so.
The meeting follows the President’s recent directive at the last FEC meeting on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 that all Ministers and other political appointees aspiring for elective offices in the 2023 General Elections should resign their current appointments on or before Monday, May 16, 2022.
