Buhari Will Assign Portfolios to All His 36 Ministers – Garba Sheu

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, has clarified the statement credited to President Buhari that some ministers in his cabinet would be without a portfolio.In a phone interview with newsmen, Mallam Garba Sheu averred that all the 36 ministerial nominees that had been screened by the Senate would be assigned portfolios.Mallam Garba further clarified the President’s statement that what the president meant was that not all the ministers would have full control of the federal ministries.He said the president would retain the structure in which there are substantive ministers and ministers of state. . Shehu said: “You know we have a structure of government in place in this country whereby there are substantive ministers and ministers of state.“What the president meant (in the interview granted) was that not all the ministers in his cabinet will have the full control of the ministries. You know it is not possible to have the number of ministries more than the number of ministers. Even former President Goodluck Jonathan had 28 ministries and 42 ministers.“So, what the president meant was that some of his cabinet members would be ministers of state.” Asked whether this implies that all Buhari’s ministers will have portfolios, Shehu answered in the affirmative, saying: “Yes, that is what it means. But not all of them (the ministers) will have the full command of the ministries”.