The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole, has said the ministerial list presented by President Muhammadu Buhari was as good as what any other person could have come up with.
He condemned the critics of the nominees, questioning their own credibility and right to do so.
Recall that Buhari had forwarded the list of 43 nominees to the Senate last Tuesday.
As at the end of the screening exercise on Monday, 40 out of the 43 had been screened amid criticisms of both the nominees and the screening process.
Oshiohmole, while addressing State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Buhari at the State House, Abuja, on Monday, said contrary to criticisms that the list was based on political patronage, it was meant to boost formation of an all-inclusive government.
He further lambasted critics of the list saying the president should be commended for nominating up to two ministers from a state that contributed less than five per cent of the his votes in the 2019 Presidential election, as well as go-political zones where he did not win.
The APC leader posited that rather than complain about the list, Nigerians should insist that government at all levels must deliver in this dispensation.
“Whose credibility? How credible are some of those who are talking?
“The point is that I don’t know if there is a Nigerian who knows every Nigerian.
“Even as I can say that I have worked for Nigerian people at all levels, as a worker in a factory, as President of the NLC, as governor of a state and now as a national chairman of a party, there are too many Nigerians I will never be able to know.
“The screening process is meant to enable those watching, it is not for nothing that it is televised, it is to enable Nigerians see who these people are.
“But you will find that people started dismissing the list even before they saw it, just like some other things that Nigerians dismiss without knowing the meaning.
“So, what you and I should insist on is that in the President’s second term, in this next level, our party, our government at the centre, state and local government level must deliver. That is the entry point for every Nigerian.
“And when you talk of Patronage, who should we appoint…have you heard of Americans appointing Russians because they are experts to go and preside over their Ministries, Departments and Agencies?
“Even in your newspapers do you invite me as APC chairman to come and write your editorial? He queried .
Oshiohmole, further insisted that the fact that the President appointed minister from geo- political zones where he did not win election, showed how merciful he was.
“Otherwise, where we got less than five percent, I saw two ministers coming from that state (Anambra), in spite of the fact that he got less than five percent there.
“That speaks volumes about a large heart, to accommodate, appreciate and to have an all inclusive government.”
He said that he was optimistic that the incoming ministers would perform creditably well after taking oath of office in days to come.
“I am very optimistic that these ministers coming, all of us working together, the party, the executive which the ministers belong and the National Assembly where we have overwhelming majority, we have what it takes to take Nigeria to the next level and the next level we are going there,” he said .
The APC Chairman gave himself pass mark insisting that Nigerians were appreciating party better under his leadership.
According to him, the party had made tremendous progress under him.
“You talk about rumours, what about what you see. I am very proud to say that under my chairmanship, our party has made tremendous progress.
