President Bola Tinubu has constituted his cabinet and is set to swear in his Ministers on Monday, August 21 at the State House, Abuja. According to a statement released by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Ministers and their assigned portfolios are as follows:
- Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa
- Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru
- Minister of State, Defence, Bello Matawalle
- Minister of Education, Tahir Maman
- Minister of State, Education, Yusuf Sununu
- Minister of Housing &Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa
- Minister of State, Housing &Urban Development, Abdullahi Gwarzo
- Minister of Budget & Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu
- Minister of State, Environment and Ecological Management, Ishak Salako
- Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike
- Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Mairiga Mahmud
- Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev
- Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello Goronyo
- Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari
- Minister of State, Agriculture, and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi
- Minister of Interior, Saidu Alkali
- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar
- Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare; Ali Pate
- Minister of State, Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa
- Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Geidam
- Minister of State, Police Affairs, Imaam Sulaiman-Ibrahim
- Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu
- Minister of State, Steel Development, U. Maigari Ahmadu
- Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris
- Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi
- Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong
- Minister of State, Labour, and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha
- Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Zephaniah Jisalo
- Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani
- Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun
- Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo
- Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu
- Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake
- Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John
- Minister of Transportation, Adegboyega Oyetola
- Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Doris Anite
- Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji
- Minister of Works, David Umahi
- Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo
- Minister of Youth, Abubakar Momoh
- Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu
- Minister of State, Gas Resources, Ekperipe Ekpo
- Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri
- Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh
- Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy
On Monday, August 7, the Senate concluded confirmation hearings for ministerial nominees. The screening exercise had commenced on July 31, following the receipt of an initial list of 28 ministerial nominees from President Bola Tinubu. The President subsequently forwarded another list containing the names of 19 nominees to the Senate and eventually forwarded the name of an additional nominee. A total of 48 nominees were screened by the Senate. Upon conclusion of the screening exercise, the Senate voted and confirmed 45 out of 48 nominees and stated that the other three nominees were still undergoing security screening. The three nominees include former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, Director at Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) bank, Stella Okotete (Delta) and Abubakar Sani Danladi (Taraba).
There have been news reports stating that former Governor El-Rufai has withdrawn his interest for a ministerial position, while Stella Okotete is reported to have written to several institutions, requesting verification of her educational and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates.
The next step with respect to the three persons whose confirmations are pending is unclear. However, Order 130 of the 2022 Senate Standing Rules provides thus:
“Nominations neither confirmed nor rejected during the Session or within 21 working days in the case of Ministerial nominees shall be returned by the Clerk of the National Assembly to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and shall not again be made to the Senate by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Senate is currently on its annual recess and did not disclose if or when it will be reconsidering these pending nominations.