US embassy cable - 05ABUJA1209

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001209 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PREL, PINR, KDEM, NI 
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT OBASANJO ANNOUNCES NEW MINISTERS, 
PLANS CABINET RESHUFFLE 
 
REF: (A) ABUJA 1186 (B) ABUJA 1119 
 
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Summary 
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1.  On July 5, President Obasanjo sent a list of 11 
ministerial nominees to the Senate for approval, 
indicating that he plans to drop some of the current 
Cabinet, possibly to give those with political 
ambitions the opportunity to focus on 2007 rather than 
policy making and implementation.  The list of nominees 
suggests that the President wants to give more powers 
to the economic management team, but as is the custom 
in Nigeria, the President will announce the nominees' 
portfolios only after they are confirmed.  It is likely 
that a Minister of Petroleum Resources will be named, 
for the first time since Obasanjo took office in 1999. 
 
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The List of Nominees 
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2.  On Tuesday, July 5, the Senate was called from 
vacation to reconvene for a special session to approve 
President Obasanjo's list of 11 ministerial nominees. 
The Senate however deferred approving the nominees 
until Wednesday, July 6, to be able to interview the 
nominees before approving the list. 
 
3. The list of nominees includes Chief Bayo Ojo (Kogi); 
Dr. Edmund Daukoru (Bayelsa); Rahman Olusegun Mimiko 
(Ondo); Mallam Yahaya Abdulkarim (Zamfara); Mrs. 
Obiageli "Oby" Ezekwesili (Anambra); Helen Esuene (Akwa 
Ibom); Halima Tayo Alao (Kwara); Ahmed Abdulhameed 
(Jigawa); Mariam Ciroma (Borno); Itoto Joseph (Edo); 
and Fidelis Tapgun (Plateau).  Note: Ministerial 
nomination adheres to the "federal character" concept, 
meaning that each of the 36 states of the federation 
must be represented in the cabinet.  End Note. 
 
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Another Plus for the Economic Team 
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4.  Still basking in the euphoria of the debt relief 
deal announced last week by the Paris Club (Ref A), the 
economic management team has received another plus by 
the nomination of Oby Ezekwesili, Senior Special 
Assistant to the President, as a minister.  She is a 
member of the economic team and heads the Budget 
Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU), 
popularly called the "Due Process Office."  The Due 
Process office is responsible for vetting government 
procurement; Oby has often announced that her office 
has been able to save the Nigerian treasury billions of 
dollars that would have been lost through inflated 
contracts. 
 
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An Oil Minister, At Last 
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5.  Dr. Daukoru will likely assume office as Minister 
of Petroleum Resources, a position that Obasanjo has 
held himself since 1999, attracting much public 
criticism.  Daukoru is presently the Special Advisor on 
Energy and Petroleum.  The timing of his appointment 
might be related with Nigeria's turn to assume the 
presidency of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting 
Countries (OPEC) next year:  according to OPEC's rules, 
only substantive petroleum ministers can hold office as 
president of the organization.  Daukoru's appointment 
may also be related to the ongoing impeachment attempt 
in the National Assembly (Ref B), which lists 
Obasanjo's failure to appoint a minister of petroleum 
resources as an impeachable offence. 
 
6.  Chief Bayo Ojo, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), a 
telecommunications lawyer, is the President of the 
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).  He is tipped to be the 
Attorney General and Minister of Justice.  The position 
is currently held by Chief Akin Olujimi, whose tenure 
has attracted much criticism from the legal profession 
for his awkward interpretation of the law. 
 
7.  Rahman Olusegun Mimiko will likely be appointed as 
Minister of Housing to replace the former minister, 
Chief (Mrs.) Mobolaji Osomo, who was removed due to the 
scandal that arose from the sale of federal government 
houses in Lagos.  The ministry of housing has been 
without a minister since Mrs. Osomo's sack in March 
2005, and the person initially nominated as a 
replacement from her home state, Ondo, did not pass the 
Senate screening exercise. 
 
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Comment 
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8.  Though the portfolio to be assigned to the 
ministerial nominees is yet to be made public, the 
elevation of Oby Ezekwesili to minister is a boost to 
the economic management team.  There is no likelihood 
that any member of the economic team will be replaced 
in the cabinet reshuffle, but rather that the economic 
team will have a stronger voice in the cabinet.  As has 
been the custom during the Obasanjo presidency, he will 
only assign portfolios when the nominees have been 
cleared by the Senate.  Post will provide biographical 
data on the new appointees septel. 
CAMPBELL