In line with the mandate of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, which includes safe shipping and cleaner oceans, a team comprising of Search and Rescue and marine accident investigation officers have been dispatched to the scene of the incident involving the Majestic Rig belonging to Depthwize Nigeria Limited, which capsized at Ovhor in Warri, Delta State.

Initial findings has confirmed that the ill-fated Rig is Panama Flagged and has been operating on Nigerian waters since 2016 without requisite approvals from the Agency.

The ABS Classed inland Water Drilling 232 feet-long Barge, with a rated drilling depth of 30,000 feet collapsed where it was been towed from N04, 30:34 / E00543:57 enroute Ovhor 21 that belongs to SEPLAT Oil field in Delta State.

NIMASA has initiated contact with the Clean Nigerian Associate, a conglomerate of all International Oil Companies (IOCs’) responsible for the cleaning of Tier 2 oil spill, to establish the level of spillage at the scene of the incident.

In addition, the Agency is in communication with officials of SEPLAT Energy Limited chatterers of the ill-fated Rig who are expected to officially report the incidence within 24 hours in line with the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 2007.

This information is for the public to please take note.

Osagie Edward

Assistant Director,

Public Relations, NIMASA

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

President Bola Tinubu will administer the oath of office to his recently appointed ministers on Monday, August 21st. This follows the allocation of portfolios to the ministerial appointees, as announced by the Presidency on Wednesday, August 16th.

The official communication was conveyed by George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, through a press release signed by Willie Bassey.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 10:00 am at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja. This will be preceeded by a retreat to be conducted by the office the SGF.

On Wednesday, the Presidency disclosed the portfolios of the ministerial appointees, shedding light on the distinct roles and responsibilities that each minister will undertake.

Notably absent among the unveiled portfolios was that of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, which THE WHISTLER has learned may be retained by the president.

Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, did not pass the ministerial screening conducted by the Senate.

Below is the full list of the ministers-designate and their portfolios.

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani
Minister of State, Environment and Ecological Management, Ishak Salako
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy : Wale Edun
Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Bunmi Tunji
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu
Minister of State, Health and Social Welfare, Tunisia Alausa
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake
Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John
Minister of Transportation, Adegboyega Oyetola
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Aniete
Minister of Innovation Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji
Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha
Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy
Minister of Works, David Umahi
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo
Minister of Youth, Abubakar Momoh
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu
Minister of State, Gas Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo
Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri
Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh
Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike
Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa
Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru
Minister of State Defence, Bello Matawalle
Minister of State Education, Yusuf T. Sunumu
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed M. Dangiwa
Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, Abdullah T. Gwarzo
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu
Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Mairiga Mahmud
Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello M. Goronyo
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyar
Minister of Education, Tahir Maman
Minister of Interior, Sa’Idu A. Alkali
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf M. Tuggar
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate
Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Geidam
Minister of State, Steel Development, U. Maigari Ahmadu
Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu A. Audu
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi
Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon B. Lalong
Minister of State, Police Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim
Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Govermental Affairs, Zephaniah Jisalo
Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev
Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi
Minister of Environment and Ecological Management, (Kaduna)

Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, has taken a strong stance against the rising kidnapping and criminal activities within the state.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for new commissioners in Calabar, Otu announced a crackdown on criminals and urged law enforcement agencies to apprehend and prosecute offenders in accordance with state laws.

Otu expressed his frustration with the prevailing insecurity, emphasizing that the safety of the state is everyone’s responsibility.

He encouraged citizens to provide information about suspicious individuals in their communities and assured their protection. The governor also pledged rewards for valuable information that leads to the arrest of criminals.

“Let’s take responsibility for the security of our dear state because these people are not foreigners but those around us. We are going to put a fee on whistleblowing. Anybody you suspect in your neighborhood, please pass on the information and you will be protected,” the governor was quoted as saying by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Ogbeche.

The governor directed security heads to utilize all available resources to swiftly put an end to these criminal acts, secure the release of hostages, and restore the state’s peace and reputation.

Citing the Cross River State Kidnapping Prohibition Law of 2016, Otu outlined stringent penalties for kidnappers, including death by hanging and lengthy imprisonment for attempted kidnappings. He affirmed his commitment to enforcing these laws rigorously to eradicate criminal activities.

Otu conveyed his determination to end the era of insecurity, asserting that the time for change is now. He expressed his willingness to collaborate with various stakeholders to alleviate the impact of economic challenges without resorting to criminal actions.

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has expressed concern over the increasing incidents of academic staff from universities, polytechnics, and Colleges of Education (CoE) fleeing once they are sent abroad on scholarships by the agency.

The Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, stated that these cases are embarrassing, prompting the need to revise the foreign scholarship programs. The aim is to strengthen the selection criteria and ensure that beneficiaries do not abscond in the future.

Echono addressed the heads of benefiting institutions in Abuja during a stakeholders’ engagement on emerging issues affecting TETFund’s interventions. He urged participants to collaborate with TETFund in recommending credible scholars for foreign scholarships.

“We are entrusted with the responsibility of rehabilitating the physical infrastructure and other content aspects of the nation’s entire public tertiary institutions. We have successfully sponsored over 37,000 scholars for both foreign and local PhDs, Masters, Bench Work, and Postdoctoral programs in various institutions within and outside Nigeria.”

“Sadly, we are having growing cases of scholars’ abscondment, scholars not returning to serve their bonds at their home institutions upon completion of their programs. In fact, the challenge of scholars absconding has undermined and complicated TETFund’s scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS) program, thus bringing it under intense scrutiny.”

Echono explained that the stakeholders’ engagement aimed to address these challenges and find solutions for the effective implementation of scholarship programs. He highlighted the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with prestigious institutions overseas to enhance the TSAS program.

The purpose of the engagement was to encourage open dialogue and collaboration among key stakeholders of the Fund to enhance the effectiveness of TETFund’s intervention programs. Echono emphasized that stakeholders’ collective insights, ideas, and feedback are crucial for driving positive changes and accelerating educational sector development.

“As an agency of the government tasked with rebuilding and supporting the nation’s tertiary institutions, we are fully aware of the enormous responsibility and task before us, especially considering the importance of tertiary education in nation-building.”

Echono also addressed the impact of rising inflation on the Fund’s interventions, stating the need to reconsider fixed cost regimes and adapt interventions to inflation rates and project lifecycles. He also emphasized the importance of comprehensive equipment audits to ensure efficient utilization of resources and avoid duplication in subsequent interventions.

A good number of people, including me, seems opposed to Nigeria leading the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to war in Niger. In one of the most telling anti-war metaphors, a Nigerian columnist and Editor, Lasisi Olagunju, likened military intervention to rubbing buttocks with the porcupine. 

Doves everywhere are flying the flag of peace. Protesters are also waving placards reminding Nigeria’s President and ECOWAS Chairman, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, not to start a war he cannot finish.

As if he doesn’t know, Tinubu has also been reminded, among other things, that there’s already too much trouble at home – insecurity, economic hardship and a country deeply divided by the last elections – without a clear plan, so far, how to dig himself out of the mess. He cannot invite more trouble.

Tinubu is not just being told to mind his business, fix Nigeria and forget war. In what is clearly an indication that even the pacificists recognise that he cannot ignore a problem at the door, however, the president has also been advised to prioritise talks and negotiations with Niger’s military leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiana, who deposed President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power on July 26.

That is easier said than done. I’ve been forced to pause and lower my flag for talks at half-mast after reading one of Christopher Hitchens’ essays in his collection, And Yet, from which I have adapted the title of this article. 

Hitchens wasn’t writing about Niger, of course: it was about the US Middle East policy at a very difficult and dangerous time. At the height of Iran’s nuclear enrichment controversy, the Obama administration received a letter from Tehran offering “unconditional talks”, over the hostile and fraught relationship between Washington and Tehran. 

The invitation to “unconditional talks” with Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmedinajad, characteristised in Washington as the devil incarnate, spooked memories of Azar Nafisi’s 2003 book, Reading Lolita in Tehran, in which she said a relationship with the Islamic Republic “is like having sex with a man you loathe.” I honestly don’t know which one is easier – rubbing buttocks with the porcupine or having sex with a man you loathe!

The instigation for talks, at all costs, with Niger’s military junta must feel that way for Tinubu. How do you talk with a man who not only despises your election and questionsthe legitimacy of other regional leaders, but one who has also spurned your emissaries and is openly rallying other scoundrels against you and the regional body? 

It’s gratifying that the latest indications from Niamey are that the military regime is prepared for talks with ECOWAS. But what, in any case, would such talks be likein light of the regional protocol by all 15-member ECOWAS countries, including Niger, against unconstitutional changes in government?  

A chapter from the encounter of regional leaders and the diaries of three regional military coup leaders in the last few years could give us an idea. The soles of the shoes of ECOWAS special envoy and former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and his team are worn out from futile diplomatic visits to Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso after soldiers seized power in these countries, and for three years, all refused to talk sense. 

Assimi Goita, Mali’s military leader, seized power in 2020 and initially promised a transitional government within six months. Before you could say Assimi, however, he sacked the figure-head interim government in May 2021 and promised elections would be held in 2024, that is four years after he first seized power.

Guinean military leader Mamadi Doumbouya, who seized power in September 2021 was careful not to commit early. After about five months in power, plenty of talk and ECOWAS sanctions which all parties knew were just about as empty as the talks, Doumbouya announced in January last year that he needed an extra 39 months to hand over power.  

And just around the corner, Ibrahim Traore, Burkinabe’s military leader and the third soldier to lead a successful coup in the region in five years, has not made any secrets of his flirtations with the Russian-backed Wagner Group. 

The hint of a transition is not even on the table, much less discussions with ECOWAS about a possible hand over date. Anyone who saw Traore’s recent red-carpet reception by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow might understand why he cannot be in a hurry to leave power. Better to talk about talk and enjoy the illegitimate fruit of power than to confront the threat of a forceful removal. 

It is in the context of this catastrophic failure of previous talks with military juntas in the last three years, not to mention the audacity of their defiance, that we must view any talks with Tchiani. It is either we have decided to shred the protocol against unconstitutional changes in government and return to the 1970s/80s by normalisingmilitary rule, or we make it clear that there would be consequences for military coups. 

The argument that we have ourselves to blame because civilian rulers have performed shabbily, wangled their way into office, or illegally extended their tenure is seductive but untenable. To adapt the Italian prosecutor Virgino Rognoni, who took on the Red Brigades in the 1908s, “in whichever way a democratic system might be sick, military coup will not heal it; it kills it. Democracy is healed with democracy.”

We can all agree that talk is better than war, but those who are willing to turn a blind eye to the futility of talks in the last three years since the fall of Mali have not said how more pillow talk with Tchiani would do for Niger what it has failed to do for the embarrassingly defiant coup belt. 

It’s been said that the “hasty” announcement of a military option by ECOWAS and sanctions by the body, especially Nigeria’s decision to cut-off electricity to Niamey, hardened the junta. Maybe. But the junta’s response to diplomatic overtures made right after did not suggest that sending flowers early on would have made much difference. 

Tchiani’s latest comment that the military government has enough evidence to try President Bazoum for high treason is a ridiculous excuse to buy time and befuddle the point. It is a measure of how unpromising the talks would be that an illegitimate government is even thinking of charging an elected president with “high treason!” 

How did we get here? By talking, of course, without any clear intention of, or will to do anything, when talks failed. Wasn’t it an embarrassment to ECOWAS, for example, that in spite of promises by the Malian military leader to hand over within a few months of the coup, the military-dominated legislature later announced that nothing less than four years would do, to which ECOWAS negotiator, Jonathan, tamely replied, “I believe ECOWAS may not accept it…we’re going to negotiate further with them.” 

Seven months after Jonathan made this statement, the soldiers in Burkina Faso read correctly that it was just another empty talk. They struck.

If, in 2016, ECOWAS had offered President Yahya Jammeh talks, instead of deploying a regional force to remove him from power after he lost elections and refused to quit, he’ll probably still be in office today, talking.  

Sure, regional leaders could do better by using institutional mechanisms such as the AU’s Peer Review to improve the quality of governance and perhaps even review the governance charter. 

Yet, there’s no evidence in Africa that the military has done any better after seizing power. It’s time to end the nonsense in Niger not by rubbing buttocks with Tchiani, but by keeping the cage-trap firmly on the table for this porcupine and his cohorts.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has unveiled plans to demolish approximately 500 illegal houses and structures in Dutsen-Garki, Apo District, Abuja.

Mr. Mukhtar Galadima, the Director of the Department of Development Control at FCTA, revealed this decision following a meeting with community leaders in Abuja.

Represented by Mr. Hassan Ogbole, the Deputy Director of Monitoring and Enforcement, Galadima stated that all illegally acquired or constructed houses and structures would be subject to demolition.

He expressed concern over the unauthorized acquisition and development of properties and lands by individuals without obtaining approval from FCTA, deeming this practice unacceptable.

The purpose of the meeting with the locals aligns with FCTA’s reform agenda, focusing on consulting natives prior to any demolition exercise in order to avoid surprising the community.

Galadima emphasized that the meeting aimed to inform community leaders and the public about the forthcoming demolition operation.

In collaboration with the community leaders, FCTA has agreed to mark houses and structures illegally erected by non-indigenous residents within two weeks, followed by the actual demolition.

The Director cautioned residents against seeking land acquisition from locals, urging them to approach the appropriate authorities to prevent property losses.

He further advised against selling lands or expanding properties without obtaining FCTA’s approval.

Mr. Kak Bello, Deputy Director of Monitoring and Enforcement at Abuja Environmental Protection Board, emphasized that not only are illegal structures erected, but buildings are also constructed in waterways.

Building on flood plains and disposing of refuse in waterways contribute to environmental problems experienced in parts of FCT, Bello noted.

He encouraged people to adhere to the law, refrain from illegal construction, and avoid building on flood plains.

Mr. Danjuma Fanus, a community representative, assured full cooperation from the community leaders for the successful execution of the exercise.

However, Fanus appealed to FCTA to approach the exercise considerately to ensure that no natives become victims.

“We are committed to working with the authorities, but we also seek your cooperation,” he emphasized.

There is no doubt that the sanctions imposed on Niger by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in response to the 26 July military coup that toppled the government of elected President Mohamed Bazoum, are biting hard, especially the suspension of electricity supply by Nigeria,

After last weekend’s meeting in Niamey with a delegation of Muslim Scholars) Ulamas from Nigeria, the Brig.-General Abdourahamane-led junta began singing a different tune from their pervious uncompromising stance.

It was announced after that meeting that the junta leaders were now ready to dialogue with ECOWAS, having treated with disrespect a delegation from the organization led by former Nigerian military Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, and also refused to receive a joint ECOWAS-AU-UN Mission.

The soldiers were reportedly angry that ECOWAS “did not hear their side of the story before imposing the sanctions,” and also threated the use military force if detained Bazoum was not released and reinstated within seven days.

The seven-day ultimatum had since passed without any military intervention as the Niamey junta rather consolidates its hold on power by announcing military regional governors and a cabinet of 21 ministers headed by a civilian Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine. Zeine also doubles as Finance Minister in the cabinet with soldiers holding key portfolios of defence and internal affairs.

At their second emergency summit on the Niger crisis on 10^th August in Abuja, regional leaders had ordered the deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force to restore constitutional order in Niger. They had further directed “the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff to activate the ECOWAS Standby Force in all its elements immediately.”

But in the intervening period, it emerged that Tchiani and his junta colleagues received the group of Muslim Ulamas led by Sheik Bala Lau.

Both sides were reported to have agreed that dialogue with ECOWAS was a better option for the resolution of the Niger impasse.

Officials of the military regime were also reported to have praised ECOWAS as an important regional organization, stressing the need for diplomacy, and appealing for lifting of the regional sanctions.

But shortly after that seemingly positive development, the junta announced that it would charge detained Bazoum with high treason for allegedly inviting foreign forces to attack Niger.

ECOWAS responded by expressing “stupefied” anger, condemning the junta move junta as provocative. The regional bloc further reiterated that Bazoum remained the democratically elected president of Niger.

Meanwhile, it is becoming obvious that while the ECOWAS threat for the use of military force might have played a part, the impacts of the regional sanctions, especially the cut of electricity supply have proved a most effective weapon that can force the junta to the negotiating table.

Apart from Niger, three other ECOWAS member States - Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso are now under military dictatorships, with Mali and Burkina Faso vowing to join forces with Niger against the ECOWAS planned military intervention.

Somehow, the use of force in Niger is growing unpopular based on the fear that it could snowball into a catastrophic enterprise. There is opposition in some ECOWAS member States including Nigeria, Niger’s key neighbour, which is expected to play a major part in such a venture.

Also, Algeria and Mauritania, Niger’s neighbours in the Sahel would prefer diplomatic initiatives.

As ECOWAS military chiefs hold their second emergency meeting in Accra, Ghana 17-18 August since receiving the marching orders for the activation of the Standby Force from the reginal leaders on 10^th August, the general expectation is that ECOWAS would stay on the message, still holding up the military card, but at the same time, allow parallel backend diplomatic efforts to continue.

Doubtless, the military coup in Niger is one too many in the ECOWAS region. But it is also true that military incursion into politics in the politically restive region, is only a symptom of the perennial systemic failure of governance systems, characterised by corruption, mismanagement, vote rigging, disregard for the rule of law and human rights violations.

Some leaders in the region have blatantly altered national constitutions to gain or retain power, amid disturbing trends of godfatherism, state capture, personalisation of democracy and undemocratic control of the legislature and the judiciary by the executive arms of government.

Soldiers belong in their barracks for the protection of national sovereignty and territorial integrity. But the hypocritical tendency of always jumping to condemn military coups, while allowing political leaders to continue with impunity, generates public anger, especially when peaceful street protests are often met with ruthless repression by the politicians.

In the case of Niger, internal power struggle between Bazoum and his godfather, former President Mahamadou Issoufou, coupled with the ousted president’s plan to carry out major changes in government institutions, including the armed forces, might have triggered the putsch, foreign interference is also playing a major part.

Niger is a major Western ally, especially the United State and France. Both have military bases in the country.

For hosting America’s key military facilities, including intelligence gathering drones, and also assisting Western countries to stop immigration from Africa, Niger was receiving foreign assistance worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

In addition, the country is also rich in natural resources particularly uranium, which is very useful for nuclear power generation, although this is exploited by Western companies for the benefit of their countries.

For instance, France uses Niger’s uranium to generate about 70% of its power supply while 80% of Niger’s estimated 26 million people wallow in darkness, with the country on the bottom rung of the UN Human Development ranking.

There is also growing anti-French sentiment in Niger and other French former colonies in Africa. This has found expression in sporadic street protests, with some protesters destroying the French national flags while others hold aloft the Russia flags, in what is interpreted as an appeal for Moscow’s support.

The junta leaders have already recalled Niger’s ambassador from France and suspended Niger’s uranium supply contract with France, with every indication that like their colleagues in Mali and Burkina Faso, they are leaning toward Russia, which has expressed opposition to military intervention in Niger. Tchiani is actually reported to have had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The head of Russia’s private military group, Wagner, has also welcomed the Niger coup as “a positive development,” although no indication that the group is ready to send soldiers to Niger.

To underscore Niger’s strategic interest to its Western allies, the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, has continued follow developments in Niger, praising ECOWAS and its current Chairman, Nigerian President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for their “efforts” in Niger.

Paradoxically, while America and some Western countries have evacuated their citizens from Niger, Washington has announced plans to send its new Ambassador to Niamey at a time ECOWAS is threatening military intervention.

The more reason ECOWAS will be well-advised to continue to explore diplomatic and peaceful resolution of the Niger crisis, to avoid a dangerous backlash, especially in Nigeria, the regional powerhouse, and by extension, the entire region. Also, Bazoum’s life could further be jeopardised.

The Niger junta, too, must realise that it cannot take on ECOWAS in the event of kinetic option.

The prognosis looks rather grim for deposed President Bazoum, and France, which is losing hold in its former colonies, even as Russia continue its inroad in Africa, despite the pathological fears of the West.

The way forward is for Paris to review its policy towards Africa, otherwise, the citizens appear determined to free their countries from the suffocating and overbearing French influence.

Even if Bazoum were to escape jail sentence for alleged treason, he is unlikely to be reinstated. He has apparently lost the loyalty of the Niger armed forces and might pay for the strained relations between him and his godfather, Issoufou, assuming his erstwhile Western allies are also not done with him.

When Bazoum had the opportunity to speak out from the junta detention, he only called for his release and reinstatement, without any consideration for the long-suffering citizens, who bear the brunt of coups and bad governance.

His reinstatement will only make nonsense of whatever reason/s canvased by the junta for the coup, so a short transition period of six to nine months for the election of new civilian government seems a most likely solution to the Niger crisis. ECOWAS should not be dragged into a deadly and risky proxy war.

A major lesson from the geopolitical game in Niger and other Francophone coup countries is that solutions to African problems are in Africa and that relations with foreign countries, be they America and its Western allies, Russia, China, or any other country for that matter, must be based on equal partnerships with the interests of the majority of Africans as the priority.

Paul Ejime is a Global Affairs Analyst and Consultant on Peace & Security and Governance Communications

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu assured investors that his reforms will remove impediments to conducive business operations in Nigeria. 

Tinubu disclosed this in a meeting on Wednesday when he received Mr Ade Adeola, Managing Director of Energy and Natural Resources in Europe, Africa and the Middle East for Standard Chartered Bank. 

He added his reforms would improve efficiency in business start-up and administration including tax reviews and improved security. 

Attracting investments 

President Tinubu noted his administration is  working towards attracting investments, he said: 

• “We are committed to strengthening partnerships, encouraging efficiency and creating a suitable environment for investors. 
• “We are already working hard on security. We will improve efficiency across the board for good input and output and we will build a very friendly environment for growth and investments,’’ he said. 

He also added that tax reforms were being undertaken with close adherence to global best practices that would favour businesses for the collective prosperity of the nation, citing that Nigeria is open for business.  

• “We believe in partnership, and we will work with all those interested in the progress of Nigeria,’’ the president said. 

Adeola said Standard Chartered Bank is committed to enabling investments in Nigeria with a special focus on energy and natural resources and a huge portfolio in funding for the oil and gas industry, he also noted that the bank supports investments of about two to three billion US dollars annually, adding: 

• “We are very excited about your leadership and we want to restate our commitment to the growth of Nigeria,’’. 

New economic Ministers 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday appointed the former Commissioner of Finance in Lagos State, Wale Edun, as the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. 

Edun, who was a Presidential Adviser on Monetary Policies, was part of the first batch of the 28-man ministerial list that was sent to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu. 

Wale Edun’s background 

Wale Edun has career experience that spans merchant banking, corporate finance, economics and international finance at national and international levels. He is an economist, with both first and Master’s Degrees in Economics, from the University of London and the University of Sussex, England. 

Edun worked at Chase Merchant Bank as the Head of Treasury and then as Deputy Head of Corporate Finance. These positions put him in charge of the bank’s Treasury and Money Market activities.

He was responsible for the Capital Market and Financial Advisory operations and had to represent several local subsidiaries and affiliates of major multinational companies. 

Social media users have taken to the micro-blogging platform Twitter to react to President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial portfolios.

It was learned that President Tinubu appointed former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as the FCT Minister.

Festus Keyamo was appointed as the Minister of Aviation, while Adebayo Adelabu was appointed as the Minister Of Power.

The list also names former Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola as the Minister of Transportation.

The swearing-in ceremony by the President will hold on Monday, 21st August 2023, at the State House Conference Centre, Aso Villa, Abuja.

However, while social media users have reacted generally to the portfolios, the appointment of Wike as FCT minister caught several attention.

See some reactions below.

A Twitter user, @adeniyisegun114 “I won’t be surprised if @GovWike ended up demolishing the @OfficialPDPNig unfinished national secretariat.”

In a post via Twitter, Joe Abah, a former director-general of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, said, “If it’s true that Wike is the new FCT Minister, it would mean that he’ll be the first southerner to be FCT Minister. It will also mean that his band is back with a bang. Abuja gardens will no longer need to close by 7 pm because Wike will come with his 40-year-old whiskey.”

@lukziz: “This is like the most disappointing ministerial list i have seen in the 24 years of democracy in this country… I don’t think the president really mean “renewed hope” for a common man maybe the renewal of hope is for the political cronies, because they are the one sharing things.”

@medley_poetic: “You’d never see him appoints a petroleum minister. Reserved because it’s where the money is. You can only have someone like Peter Obi appoint a technocrat as petroleum minister because he is not the usual Nigerian politician that sees leadership position as pocket enriching.”

@amakvitaa: “Mr. Tinubu is really preparing for a rerun election, Nysom wike to generate 25% in FCT as Minister of FCT with the usual Rivers State Abracadabra, Nice move.”

@MichaelOkwegba: “With Umahi as Minister of Works and Wike as FCT MINISTER, Nigeria will now feel the Ebonyi and Rivers magic. I expect the FCT and federal roads all around the country to look very different in the next 36 months. May the good Lord strengthen them to deliver quality services.”

@Musa$Adam: “Allocating Portfolios to Ministers is not the end of Nigerian’s problems, Let us continue to pray the Almighty Allah to bring ease to our sufferings and make their assignments successful and implementable to put the Nation in their mind, not what they will get as reward of their.”

@oJ_osas: “Two ministers for agriculture, water resources, housing and urban development, steel development, and one minister of sport. We have been having these ministers for years. What have they been doing? And what are these ones going to do differently to bring about positive impact?”

@fatiabdullah: “One very big joke here is that Heineken is back as a minister of state. Let’s see how he plays his cards for the next gubernatorial elections in Bayelsa.”

@matajson: “If they don’t end up being sacked by the court, I am looking forward to these folks: Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, and Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy – Bosun Tijani.”

@Saleem_dra: “So Tinubu sacrificed Elrufai because of some selfish self-serving interest of some cabals. Kaduna gets a useless Ministry of Environment instead. Time is a judge.”

@Primus_unbound: “Bello Matawalle as Minister of State Defense? Someone who couldn’t handle bandits in his own state? I could laugh if it wouldn’t hurt so much.”