Not long after signing performance contract with ministers, the presidency is said to be angry at the discovery that no fewer than 20 of the 40 serving ministers have commenced plans to contest governorship elections in their states. Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune confirmed that despite warnings by President Goodluck Jonathan that it is too early to start talking of 2015, nearly half of the members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) are already oiling their political wheels for the 2015 governorship race in their respective states.
Top flight sources told the Nigerian Tribune that the president was alarmed by the activities of the affected ministers who were reported to be battling other political forces in their states, thereby distracting them from the performance of their statutory duties at the federal level.
The activities of the affected ministers were alleged to have contributed to the strained relationship between the presidency and some of the sitting governors, who believed that the ministers had the blessing of the president.
Besides affecting their job performance and reportedly rupturing relations with some governors, there were also questions of integrity, as some allegations were already doing the rounds that the affected ministers were involved in what is called "resource grab" in order to build a war chest to finance their campaigns.
Investigations by Nigerian Tribune showed that 20 serving ministers are involved in the 2015 race with the South-South and South-West accounting for three each; South-East has four, while the North-Central and North-East have three each. The North-West is said to have four on the list, a source disclosed.
It was learnt that while making subterranean campaigns for the governorship race, some of the ministers had already set target dates for their exit from the cabinet with the earliest being May next year.
Meanwhile, the ambitious ministers were said to include both senior ministers and ministers of state.
It was confirmed that while the president is studying the performance indicators of the ministries in line with the submission of an assessment team raised early in the year, the latest development had provided further avenues for the president to X-ray his ministers along the line of financial integrity.
It is, however, not clear what the president intends to do to the affected ministers even though sources said chronic cases may get booted out of the cabinet even before May next year.
Top flight sources told the Nigerian Tribune that the president was alarmed by the activities of the affected ministers who were reported to be battling other political forces in their states, thereby distracting them from the performance of their statutory duties at the federal level.
The activities of the affected ministers were alleged to have contributed to the strained relationship between the presidency and some of the sitting governors, who believed that the ministers had the blessing of the president.
Besides affecting their job performance and reportedly rupturing relations with some governors, there were also questions of integrity, as some allegations were already doing the rounds that the affected ministers were involved in what is called "resource grab" in order to build a war chest to finance their campaigns.
Investigations by Nigerian Tribune showed that 20 serving ministers are involved in the 2015 race with the South-South and South-West accounting for three each; South-East has four, while the North-Central and North-East have three each. The North-West is said to have four on the list, a source disclosed.
It was learnt that while making subterranean campaigns for the governorship race, some of the ministers had already set target dates for their exit from the cabinet with the earliest being May next year.
Meanwhile, the ambitious ministers were said to include both senior ministers and ministers of state.
It was confirmed that while the president is studying the performance indicators of the ministries in line with the submission of an assessment team raised early in the year, the latest development had provided further avenues for the president to X-ray his ministers along the line of financial integrity.
It is, however, not clear what the president intends to do to the affected ministers even though sources said chronic cases may get booted out of the cabinet even before May next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment