‘Ministers Are Just Noisemakers’- Buhari

Buhari made this statement on Wednesday, during an interview with French television station, France 24, after he was asked if the absence of a Finance Minister was affecting the Nigerian capital market and economy.

In his response, Buhari said: “No. It is what we know and which we learnt from the Western system. The civil service provides continuity, the technocrat. And in any case, they are the people who do most of the work.

“The ministers are there, I think, to make a lot of noise; for the politicians to make a lot of noise, but the work is being done by the technocrats. They are there; they have to provide the continuity, dig into the records and then guide us, (those of us) who are just coming in.

“They have been there, some of them for 15 years, some for 20 years. So, I think this question of ministers is political. People from different constituencies want to see their people directly in government, and see what they can get out of it.”

Buhari however reiterated his commitment to name his cabinet before the end of the month.

He said, “As for the cabinet, I said we will have one by the end of the month, but time flies. The end of the month is coming too quickly for my liking.

“Yeah, I will stick to it. I will send the names to the National Assembly.”
Reminded by his interviewer that “some have quipped that the country runs better without ministers,” the president said: “When you started introducing me, you said I was around 1983 till 1985.

“Even then we had ministers. So under this system, there is need to have ministers; and we will have ministers,” Buhari added.

Ex-Minister Slams Buhari For Calling Ministers Noisemakers

Reacting to president Buhari’s statement, a former minister of Communication Technology (ComTechr), Mrs. Omobola Johnson, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of been unfair to ministers who worked hard.

The minister, reacting via her Twitter handle @OmobolaJohnson simple said: “President Buhari is being unfair to Ministers who work hard and don’t make noise. The civil service is broken and it needs to be fixed.”

APC Govs Meet Over Ministerial Appointments
Meanwhile, Governors elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), on Wednesday night, were said to have held discussions on the procedure of the appointment of ministers by President Muhammadu Buhari.

It was gathered that the governors were unhappy that names submitted by most of them for appointment were being discarded by President Buhari.

It was also gathered that the governors planned to meet the president today.