Cabinet: Jonathan urged to select patriotic individuals

Cabinet: Jonathan urged to select patriotic individuals
Confidence Ijeh, Lagos

As Nigerians await anxiously for President Goodluck Jonathan’s list of ministerial nominees, he has been advised to select people who have the interest of the citizens at heart.

President Jonathan will be sending a list of nominees for his cabinet to the National Assembly next week.

The president was urged to go for professionals and technocrats who would work to tackle the challenges facing the country.

Rewarding party loyalists

A member of the 1999 constitutional review panel, Festus Okoye told Voice of Nigeria that the President must not choose his cabinet members on the basis of rewarding party loyalists or on sentimental ground as it would not help him to achieve the goals he had outlined in his inaugural speech.

He urged the president to choose intellectuals and those that have the vision and courage to work with him towards actualizing his goal.

Okoye further stressed that if President Jonathan intends to reward his party loyalists, he should not do it to the detriment of the citizens who voted him into power.

“If he insists on rewarding them, he should do it within the context of national interest.”

He also asked the president to choose members that will run democracy on a lesser expensive platform, which will help in the  reduction of cost of governance at all levels thereby freeing resources to attend to the basic needs of the people.

He added that a major tactic that Jonathan should use in his administration was to lead by example.

The president was also urged to first of all declare his assets publicly and make all the ministers that would serve under him do same.

He said applying the above tactics would help him reduce fraud among his cabinet members.

Onlookers expectations

Jonathan’s choices for the new administration are being closely watched by both Nigerians and foreign investors who are keen to see a team capable of driving through badly-needed reforms in Africa’s third largest economy.

Williams