Why ministerial appointments won't be made till September.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said he will not appoint his cabinet ministers until September.

In an article titled ‘Nigeria committed to good governance and fighting terror’, published in The Washington Post yesterday, the President said it would neither be prudent nor serve the interests of sound government for ministerial appointments to have been made immediately he became the President.

He said there was need for the country to first put new rules of conduct and good governance in place before ministerial appointments, noting that, “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." he said.

“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. There are too few examples in the history of Nigeria since independence where it can be said that good management and governance were instituted at a national level.”

The President noted that seeking assistance from the US to track and return $150 billion loot held in foreign bank accounts on behalf of former corrupt officials was testament to how badly Nigeria had been run. 

He added that the lack of a strong framework for governance had led many of those in charge of national affairs to be “devoid of any real checks and balances”

"This way of conducting our affairs cannot continue." he said. "Indeed, the failure of governance, it can be argued, has been as much a factor in Nigeria’s inability thus far to defeat Boko Haram as have been issues with the military campaign itself.” the President added.