Get Down to Work, Buhari Charges new Ministers

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Bu­hari swore in 36 new ministers yesterday, with a charge that they should get to work speed­ily.
The ministers had taken their oaths before the President in batches of four, before they were assigned portfolios. This was just as he scrapped some ministries with their reduction from 42 to 24 and the merging of others.
The swearing-in was wit­nessed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; the Speaker of the House of Rep­resentatives, Yakubu Dogara, some state governors and fam­ily members of the ministers.
In his brief remarks in the Council Chamber of the Presi­dential Villa, Buhari said he was mindful of the need to constitute a cabinet that will deliver on the expectations of Nigerians.
He stressed that his admin­istration would work hard to deliver, “a prosperous nation respected for the right reasons, and whose citizens can hold up their heads anywhere in the world”.
The President therefore, ex­pressed confidence that the cali­bre of people he has assembled are capable of delivering on the campaign promises of the rul­ing All Progressives Congress (APC), adding: “Our ministers must proceed to work speed­ily”, in order to justify the con­fidence placed in them through their conduct and by their per­formance in their various posi­tions.
“We are optimistic that bring­ing this set of ministers into the service of our country today, is a step in the right direction, a timely move towards realising our positive goals for our coun­try”.
President Buhari said he con­sulted widely before constitut­ing the cabinet and assigning them portfolios, stressing that the focus of his administra­tion would be to diversify the economy.