I’ll soon appoint more cabinet members, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari will soon appoint more ministers into his cabinet. He will also make fresh board appointments in response to his party members’ demands.

Buhari gave hints of the new appointments in a speech delivered to the national executive council (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.

There are currently 36 ministers, with 14 of them being ministers of state. Buhari is the substantive minister of petroleum.

The president said he had been working with a trimmed cabinet to avoid waste but that he would soon “shift ground”.

The “compressed federal executive council,” he said, “will be expanded to bring in more supporters at federal level, with fresh ideas to be injected into the government”.

He did not speak on the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle.

“Last year I said we would re-constitute the boards of parastatals. I must regret the fact that we have not done so, for many reasons,” he said.

“Some of us in this meeting may know I had given instructions since October 2015 for this exercise to start. But there have been inordinate delays through several committees in an attempt to get the balance right and to make sure all parts of the country are equitably represented.

“On the other hand, I am keenly aware that our supporters are very eager for these appointments to be announced. By the Grace of God, these appointments will be announced soon. Especially now that the economy is improving, we will have the resources to cater for the appointees.”