[ 2011-07-02 ]

Nigerian president swears in first ministers
ABUJA (AFP) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan
appointed the first 14 ministers to his new
government Saturday -- and immediately ran into
criticism for bringing back so many old faces.

Of the 14 who took their oath of office Saturday,
12 were members of the old cabinet, called back to
their former portfolios. The two new appointees
will be assigned their posts on Monday.

"Those of you who are returning, you are to go
back to your ministries and start work," he said,
adding that he wanted ministers to "hit the ground
running."

Among those returning to their jobs were Diezani
Alison-Madueke, the first woman to head the
lucrative oil ministry in the OPEC member nation;
and justice minister, Mohammed Adoke.

But Debo Adeniran, who heads the Coalition Against
Corrupt Leaders, criticised the return of so many
old faces.

"The reappointments signify just one thing: the
promotion of a culture of cultism in government,"
he said.

"President Jonathan has shown that he is not ready
to change the situations of things in Nigeria. He
has recycled the old people who have continued to
pull Nigeria backward."

The president should have "injected fresh blood
into his cabinet who will take Nigeria to the next
level rather than allow the godfathers and their
cronies to continue to feather their nests", he
said.

Alison-Madueke is back in post after Jonathan
first appointed her last year, but not everyone is
happy at her return.

More than two years after they were presented to
parliament, proposed reforms of the
under-performing and corrupt sector are still
waiting to be passed into law.

The former minister in charge of the oil-rich but
volatile Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe is
also back.

Orubebe won some credit for his part in bring back
peace to the Niger Delta following a government
deal with ex-rebels there.

The Niger Delta is rich in oil and gas, but most
of its inhabitants live in poverty, with many
getting by on less than one dollar per day.

It was this gaping disparity that fuelled the
armed struggle.

The unrest, which has included sabotage of oil
installations and the abduction of oil workers had
disrupted oil production since 2006.

At its peak, it had slashed Nigeria's oil
production from 2.6 million barrels a day to about
one million.

Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil producer,
currently produces around more than two million
barrels daily.

So far, Jonathan has submitted 34 names in all to
the upper-house Senate for approval: 13 of them
are from his outgoing cabinet.

"The Senate is still screening," said Jonathan.

"Any group they clear, even if it is one person,
that person will take the oath of office so that
the ministers will go and hit the ground running,"
Jonathan said.

Source - AFP

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