President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated 43 new ministers for the various ministries for his second term in office after a two-day retreat organised to familiarise the members with the workings of government.
Twelve former ministers, who were retained by Buhari, were assigned to their previous ministries.
Buhari, who addressed the team on Wednesday carved out some new ministries, including that of Power and Humanitarian affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
Some of the ministers that retained their portfolios are Mr. Lai Mohammed, Ministry of Information and Culture; Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, Ministry of Transportation; while Mr. Raji Fasola, was allocated the ministry of Works and Housing.
Mr. Godswill Akpabio, a new minister took charge of Ministry of Niger Delta and to be assisted by Mr. Festus Keyamo, as minister of state for Niger Delta. Mr. Mohammed Bello, retained his office as Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Mrs. Zainab Ahmed also retained her portfolio as Minister of Finance.
Mr. Timipre Silva, was made Minister of State for Petroleum to report directly to the President, who doubles as Minister of Petroleum; while Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama remains as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The former governor of Osun state, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, was made the minister of interior and Mr. Adamu Adamu was returned as Minister of Education.
Before announcing the portfolios, Buhari urged the ministers to work in harmony with each other and explore all lines of communication in the drive to achieving their mandates.
He restated the course of the administration to include economic growth, improvement in security as well as fight against corruption.
The task also includes working out how to absorb the two million graduates churned out each year and strategise how to fight unemployment.
“We have to work relentlessly on specific goals and objectives to satisfy the yearnings of Nigerians,’’ he said.
The ministers were drawn from all the 36 states of the federation.
MM/GIK/APA