A FORMER Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Limited, Mr. Festus Odimegwu and a former presidential candidate, Prof. Pat Utomi, are among the ministerial nominees that have been screened by the Department of State Service.
Those already said to have been screened as nominees for President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet also include a former Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and a Lagos-lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN).
Also on the list are a former Chief of Army, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazu (retd.); an ex-chief executive of the Federal Inland Revenue, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okaru; a former finance commissioner in Lagos State, Mr. Wale Edun; and a former National Legal Adviser to the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
The screening of the nominees had been concluded on Friday. Buhari had last week at a press briefing in Accra, Ghana, that he would name members of his cabinet this month.
Multiple sources within the All Progressives Congress CONFIRMED on Sunday that Falana was favoured by a camp in the party to emerge as the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation.
A top APC chieftain said the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had convinced Buhari to appoint Falana.
Tinubu and Osinbajo were said to have told Buhari that appointing Falana, who he jailed over 30 years ago, would boost his image as a ‘converted democrat.’
It was, however, learnt that Malami was being favoured by the President.
A source within the party added power blocs within Falana’s home state, Ekiti, might not be disposed to the choice of the human rights lawyer because he is not a member of the APC.
The APC has three former governors in Ekiti State: Niyi Adebayo, Segun Oni and Kayode Fayemi.
An APC top official said, “Falana has already been screened by the DSS. However, Buhari is closer to Malami who is from the North.”
Sources within the party also confirmed that Utomi, a renowned economist and former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, had been screened by the DSS and the police.
Utomi, who is now a member of the APC, was one of biggest critics of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.
It was learnt that Edun, who served under former Tinubu as Lagos State governor, had also been screened by security agencies.
It was learnt that Edun was being considered to emerge as the Minister of Finance while Utomi for Minister of Economic Planning.
Sources within the party said that Tinubu convinced Buhari to appoint Edun based on his antecedents.
He said the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Babatunde Fowler, Edun and Utomi might be given the task of reviving the economy.
A source said, “Oil prices are dwindling and Nigeria will need to diversify but in the short term, increasing the nation’s Internally Generated Revenue is the key. Tinubu explained to Buhari that when former President Olusegun Obasanjo withheld Lagos State allocations, Edun and Fowler helped to ensure that the state’s IGR increased exponentially.’’
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