Ministerial List: Why Northern APC Govs May Have ‘Tremendous Influence’ – Laolu Akande

Laolu Akande, a former spokesperson for ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, strongly suggested on Wednesday that the northern governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) might have “tremendous influence” on President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial list.

Akande, who spoke as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, asserted that the governors fought for a balance in the party’s zoning arrangement during the 2022 presidential primaries.

“The governors of the APC, especially the Northern governors were able to stand for the right thing when we were almost on the verge of tweaking the zoning balance,” Akande said.

“So, you will imagine that people like that will also have a tremendous influence on what is gonna happen.”

According to him, the governors of the APC were very instrumental to Tinubu’s success in earning the APC presidential ticket.

“You remember what happened when the former chairman of the party went to announce a candidate, the governors of the APC especially those in the North, were able to stand and say, ‘No, it’s time to go to the South,’ which is a very commendable thing that we must also say,” he said.

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The former vice-presidential spokesman believes Tinubu is taking strategic steps to scrutinise candidates whom he thinks are capable of each position, adding that the President is taking his time to meet the 60-day ultimatum.

“Now we know that the president is also interested in putting some very important technocratic capacity on the table to be able to deal with the problem of the country,” Akande said.

“So, I see a kind of balancing act and like I said, at least now the law says look, whatever you want to do, take 60 days.”

Tinubu is expected to submit the much-anticipated ministerial list before the end of this week.

Recall that on March 17, 2023, then-outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari signed a piece of legislation requiring the nomination of candidates within 60 days of the president assuming office.