President Muhammadu Buhari in a Washington Post article has explained the delay in his constituting a cabinet.
He was speaking from Washington DC on Monday morning, hours before his meeting with America’s President Barack Obama.
“As I meet with President Obama today, the first time a president of the United States will encounter a Nigerian counterpart following the peaceful transfer of power in a contested election in our history, I will be discussing my plans for critical reforms.
“So, too, will I discuss why the formation of my administration is taking time and, crucially, why it must. Already there are voices saying these changes are taking too long, even though only six weeks have passed since my inauguration. I hear such calls, but this task cannot and should not be rushed.
“When cabinet ministers are appointed in September, it will be some months after I took the oath of office. It is worth noting that Obama himself did not have his full Cabinet in place for several months after first taking office; the United States did not cease to function in the interim.
“In Nigeria’s case, it would neither be prudent nor serve the interests of sound government to have made these appointments immediately on my elevation to the presidency; instead, Nigeria must first put new rules of conduct and good governance in place.
“I cannot stress how important it is to ensure that this process is carried out correctly, just as it has been crucial to first install the correct leadership of the military and security services before we fully take the fight to Boko Haram.”
Buhari said there were too few examples in the history of Nigeria since independence where it can been said that good management and governance were instituted at national level.
