Na’Abba, Turaki others may replace sacked ministers

PUNCH - President Goodluck Jonathan’s strategists and close associates  have begun pushing for the appointment of grass-roots politicians to replace the nine  sacked ministers.

The  PUNCH gathered in Abuja  on Thursday that the strategists and aides believe that  states, whose governors are considered hostile to Jonathan  should produce persons who are politically astute and brave enough to take on their governors’ political structures.

In Kano for example, it was learnt that a  former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Umar  Na’abba,  and a former aide to the President, Dr. Akilu Ndabawa, were being considered for  the state’s ministerial slot.

There is no love lost between Na’Abba and Kwakwanso. It  was even speculated at a time  that the President almost  nominated  Na’Abba  for ministerial position  at the beginning of his tenure but was  allegedly  advised against it  by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Ndabawa, on his part, is  considered “brave” enough to take on the  Kwankwasiyya, the governor’s political organisation.

This, according to a source, is  because he was once a member of Kwakwanso’s inner caucus and still had friends within it.

In Jigawa State,   a former governor of the state, Alhaji  Saminu Turaki,  may stage a comeback to the political scene.

It was learnt  he  had a private audience with  Jonathan during his recent  visit to Kenya.

 “The ex-governor could be considered because he is a grass-roots politician,”our source said.

The source  however expressed  fears that  Turaki’s ongoing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission could pose a challenge to his nomination for ministerial slot.

A former member of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Senator Mohammed Alkali, is also said to be among those being considered.

He was elected Senator in 1999 and contested for governorship position  in the state in 2003 with the support of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, now Governor  Sule Lamido.

He tried again in 2007 but the PDP decided Lamido was the man for the job.

His decision to challenge Lamido during the 2011 governorship election cost him his traditional title of Sardaunnan Gumel.

Another possible candidate is  a former member of the House of Representatives, Abba Anas, a one-time  secretary of the PDP in the state. He  fell out with Lamido during the twilight of his stay in the House of Representatives.

In Sokoto State,  Senator Abubakar Gada,  who is currently the Political Adviser to the National Chairman of  the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, may be among those being considered.

He challenged Governor Aliyu Wammako for the PDP ticket during the 2011 governorship election. His political difference with the governor is an open secret.

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, had in an interview on Thursday, said   Jonathan merely exercised his powers to “hire and fire” when he relieved nine ministers of their appointments.

He said “Mark you; it is in this country that some administrations change ministers almost every six months.

“Now you have a President that has left people at their posts for two years plus, there is nothing unusual about him wanting to rejuvenate his cabinet. It has nothing to do with 2015.”

One of the President’s strategists told one of our correspondents on the telephone that “the Jonathan administration cannot pretend any longer as it has  decided to bring  in politicians who can wrest the PDP  structures from their  state  governors  before  the 2015 polls.”

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress has  dismissed the cabinet shake-up by the President, saying it is nothing to celebrate.

 The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,  told journalists in Abuja on Thursday,  that the sacking of the ministers was a script ahead of  the 2015 general elections.

He also wondered if it was a coincidence  that most of the sacked ministers  were from the states of the aggrieved governors.

Mohammed said  “Is it by simple coincidence that most of those who were relieved of their positions were those seemed to be perceived opponents of Mr. President, or who have close contact with the New PDP, or is the game about 2015?”

Women activists under the aegis of the National Coalition on Affirmative Action have said  the sacking of five women ministers by  Jonathan  contravened his postulation on gender balance and 35 per cent affirmative action.

The Chairperson of   NCAA, Oby Nwankwo and Executive  Director of Women Advocates ‘Research and Documentation Center, Dr. Abiola Akiyode,   called  on the President  to ensure that women were  evenly represented in his cabinet.

“The news of a cabinet reshuffle came as a surprise to the whole country, however, what is of most concern was that five out of the nine ministers who were relieved of their portfolios were women,” they said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement was also endorsed by  the Gender and Constitutional Reform Network; International Federation of Women Lawyers; the  Legislative Advocacy Coalition on Violence Against Women;   the Women Consortium of Nigeria; the Women’s Aid Collective;  the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre and  the Gender Action Team.