I will like to extend my warmest congratulation to your excellency, PRESIDENT ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU, on emerging victorious in a most keenly contested presidential election. While the outcome of the election is being challenged at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, you must, in the interim, face the serious issues of governance bedeviling our nation.

It is in the light of the foregoing that I commend your excellency on the appointment of ministers, particularly, former governor EZENWO NYESOM WIKE as the minister of the federal capital territory, FCT, LATEEF FAGBEMI, SAN as the Attorney General of the Federation and minister of justice, WALE EDUN as the Minister of Finance, as well as MUHAMMED ALI PATE as the coordinating Minister of Health, amongst other ministers.

Their track record in private and public sphere is well known to all, and I have no doubt that they will bring their wealth of experience to bear in turning our country’s fortunes around, for the better.

While I understand the great responsibility and careful deliberation that goes into selection of ministers and the subsequent allocation of portfolios, I, however, regrettably note that unlike the names mentioned above, some ministries, like Defence and youth, have not been given adequate consideration in the appointment of ministers. The youth hold immense potential and are instrumental in driving the social, economic and political progress of Nigeria. Consequently, their active participation in governance is crucial for the meaningful representation of their interests. Such ministry should be headed by a person who is not only a youth at mind but also a youth in body. We should not return to the era where persons who are over 60 years old are appointed as minister of Youth.

Additionally, your excellency, I also want to draw your attention to the defense portfolio and urge you to reconsider the appointment of the substantive minister and minister for state in that regard. The defense ministry plays a crucial role in ensuring the sovereignty and the well-being of our nation and its citizens, and should ordinarily be manned by someone who is well versed in our internal and external security.

Furthermore, there are a number of minister designates whose CV do not match the ministries or portfolios that have been allocated to them. It is imperative, your excellency, that you take a second look at the portfolios recently announced, with a view to ensuring that only square pegs man square holes.  

As a concerned citizen deeply invested in the progress and well being of our nation, I trust your wisdom and discernment in making decisions that will yield positive outcomes for our nation as a whole. Thank you, your excellency, for the consideration of my request.

Comrade Deji Adeyanju