Oyegun: Non-APC members could be ministers

John Oyegun, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says President Muhammadu Buhari may appoint non-APC members as ministers.

Oyegun who spoke with journalists in Abuja on Monday said the party has no rights to question Buhari’s ministerial selection, adding that there was no dispute between the president and the APC.

“We agreed that we shall use all manner of people: politicians, technocrats, all manner of people even if not politicians, who can deliver and who subscribe passionately to the agenda of the president to move this country forward, irrespective of where the people come from,” he said.

“What is important is the qualification of the person and the ability of the person to deliver on the ideas of Mr. President.
“What we are interested is in the ability of the people to bring up the ideas that will help Mr. President achieve the set objectives and the ability to deliver on what the president wants.”

The 75-year-old ex governor went on to say the party was happy with the way the president was going about the whole process.

“This is an executive function and the president has the right to consult as widely as possible. This means he might pick people within the party; people outside the party.

“It is a prerogative of the president to exercise and we cannot question that. We are quite happy about the way he is proceeding, we have a very capable president.

“He is capable as ever. The president is a very careful man. He wants to be sure the kind of people he will appoint are people who are passionate about the country,” Oyegun added.

Oyegun, who said the state of the nation was improving, maintained that Buhari is not affected by the ambitions of the party leaders.

“I don’t think that will hold him back at all. Like he said, he belongs to everybody and he belongs to nobody. They should just be patient. He does not want to make avoidable mistakes.

“What is important is to see whether on a daily basis your life is improving. Everything that can be done in these few days are being done and the effect is being felt already,” he said.