Delay in appointing ministers will end soon - Lai Mohammed

THE delay in appointing ministers and other key Federal Government’s officials will soon be over, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed assured  yesterday.

He claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari was being cautious in appointing ministers because he wanted to carry along all forces and groups that ensured victory for APC at the polls.

Mohammed spoke with reporters in Oro, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, at the sideline of his yearly Ramadan lecture.

The party’s spokesman said concerns being expressed by the citizens on the ministerial list were justified.

He added: “One should understand that when you win an election with the collaboration of so many forces and groups, you have to be extremely thorough before making an appointment here or there. I am very sure that in a few days time hopefully, the issue of ministerial list and appointment will be a thing of the past.

“I think the concerns are genuine and it is unfortunate that we also met ourselves in a situation we did not prepare for. We cannot be tired of repeating the truth that this particular transition is like no transition that this country has ever experienced. Before now, it was either one president succeeding or in the case of another president handing over to new president from the same political party.

“This is the first time the opposition will take over from the ruling party and that in itself throws up a lot of issues. Foremost of this, you don’t know what you were going to meet on ground.”

On the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s ultimatum to President Buhari, Mohammed said: “PDP is revelling in its new found glory of opposition and we must indulge them. Honestly, the party is just entertaining itself and Nigerians. The honest truth is that you don’t give anybody ultimatum to appoint ministers. It is more in our own interest to appoint ministers.”

He urged the citizenry to prevent reactionary forces, who never wanted or voted for change, from sabotaging the party’s change mantra.

“While Nigerians have made history by voting for the opposition to take over the reins of power from a ruling party that held sway for 16 years, they must now follow up by ensuring that the process of change, which they brought about comes to fruition. And the best way to do it is for Nigerians to remain politically aware and engaged as they were in the run-up to the elections.

“That simply  means they must be willing to defend the change they voted for by continuing to support the Buhari government while preventing the reactionary forces, who never voted for change anyway, from sabotaging this party’s change mantra; whatever is worth fighting is worth defending.

“I say this with all sense of responsibility, and against the stark realities that we face daunting challenges in all sectors. Never before has our nation been put in a situation where it virtually had to start rebuilding from scratch, after almost all sectors have become nearly comatose. This is why it is necessary for the new government at the centre to make haste slowly, and get it right once and for all.

“Whereas we face huge problems in the economic and security sectors, as well as in the area of infrastructural renewal, just to mention a few, let us restrict ourselves to the social issues alone for the purpose of these remarks. Our health sector is in serious distress, for want of stronger description. Nigeria’s health statistics are worse than the average for African countries, even though we are the giant of Africa,” Mohammed said.

He added: “This is not a problem of ‘this government is slow’ or ‘this government is fast,’ it is a challenge of understanding the enormity of the problems we face and finding a lasting solution once and for all, so we won’t be going around the circles.

“As the Buhari administration tackles these challenges, let all citizens continue to play their own party by making their voices heard loud and clear, insisting on nothing but good governance, resisting all the reactionary forces who favour the status quo because it favours them, and above all, giving an unflinching support to President Buhari.”

Delay in appointing ministers will end soon - Lai Mohammed