This was a good place to start repositioning Nigeria’s economy — by tackling the theft under the previous governments. This has been seen through the selection of new top civil servants to parastatals and the launch of special courts to deal with past corruption injustices.
It took almost five months but Nigeria may get a government this week.
Final screening of 36 cabinet minister nominees is expected to begin Tuesday, DailyNation reports. This will end a lengthy process that earned President Muhammadu Buhari a less-than-flattering nickname — “Baba Go Slow.”
His slowness in appointing cabinet ministers angered supporters as he took his time filling key administration positions. He said reforming the government was a time-consuming process and he was being careful not to appoint corrupt people into office.
Buhari is working on good relations with international community. The U.S. pledged $5 million to fight Boko Haram and other material support. The G-7 also supports and is committed to strengthening Nigeria’s efforts to fight insurgency.
Buhari has succeeded in forging an alliance with other African nations through a multi-task force to deal with Boko Haram. He has also tasked new defense chiefs to redouble their efforts to quell activities of insurgency. He approved the recruitment of 10,000 additional police officers.
There is a better relationship and cooperation with neighbors such as Chad, Cameroon and Niger. They have come together to form a multi task force to fight insurgency.
The 200-plus Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted by Boko Haram are yet to be rescued. The relatives affected are still in agony while officials say they are still doing intelligence gathering.
Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation is running wild with corruption. This has been true from government to government. Buhari has promised to fix it.
Former Nigerian oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was one of five people arrested on suspicion of bribery and corruption offences this month by the U.K. National Crime Agency, AlJazeera reported.
Alison-Madueke served as Nigeria’s oil minister — one of the most influential cabinet members of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration — from 2010 until May 2015. She has been out of the country since Buhari took office, according to TheGuardian.
Buhari has promised to cut down the number of ministries, agencies and departments in the country by merging them. This will save Nigeria money. Whether he does this or not remains to be seen.
He has focused on main election pledges of tackling corruption and insecurity while the financial markets have suffered. Investors still wait for policy direction on key issues such as currency and oil. Banks are not lending as they wait for policy direction from the government.
