President Muhammadu Buhari will preside over the

valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC),

on Wednesday, exactly a week before his inauguration for

another four-year tenure.

President Muhammadu Buhari arriving to chair the

weekly FEC Meeting attended by Vice President

Yemi Osinbajo; Ag. SGF, Hajia Habiba lawal and

Ministers at the Aso Chambers, State House, Abuja.

Photo by Abayomi Adeshida 27/09/2017

The Federal Executive Council is the cabinet of Nigeria and

is made up of the President, Vice-President and ministers

appointed by the President. Other members are Secretary to

the Government of the Federation, head of the Civil Service

of the Federation (OHCSF) and Chief of Staff to the

President.

The body formalises Section 148, subsection 2 of the 1999

Constitution that says that:

“The President shall hold regular meetings with the Vice-

President and all the Ministers of the Government of the

Federation for the purposes of –

(a) determining the general direction of domestic and

foreign policies of the Government of the Federation;

(b) co-ordinating the activities of the President, the Vice-

President and the Ministers of the Government of the

Federation in the discharge of their executive

responsibilities; and

(c) advising the President generally in discharge of his

executive functions other than those functions with respect

to which he is required by this Constitution to seek the

advice or act on the recommendation of any other person

or body.”

Most of the 36 ministers were sworn-in on 11 November

2015, with President Buhari holding the Ministry of

Petroleum as its substantive minister.

President Buhari essentially kept the team, with few exits in

the last three and half years.

Barrister James Ocholi, the minister of state for Labour &

Employment was the first to take a tragic bow, about four

months after he was appointed. He died 6 March 2016 in an

accident on Abuja-Kaduna road.

Next was the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed,

who went on to become the deputy secretary-general of the

United Nations.

Two of the original ministers also resigned to contest for

political offices. They were Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti,

who was then Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals, and

Aisha Al-hassan, who went to run for governorship seat in

Taraba, after falling out with the All Progressives Congress.

Hajia Khadija Bukar Ibrahim, Minister of State, Foreign

Affairs also left to run for a House of Representatives seat

in Yobe. She won.

Kemi Adeosun, who was the original Minister of Finance left

amidst proof that she forged her NYSC certificate.

In December last year, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, Minister of State

for Environment quit to become the 13th Emir of Nasarawa

emirate in Nasarawa State.

The President also made some new ministerial

appointments in the course of the tenure. One of them was

Suleiman Hassan, who was initially appointed Minister of

state for Power in 2017. Later, he became the Minister of

Environment, following the exit of Emir Ibrahim Usman

Jibril.

Also appointed in 2017 was Professor Stephen Ocheni, who

replaced late Barrister Ocholi.

President Buhari had on April 17 asked for a comprehensive

“status reports on policies, programmes and projects” from

cabinet members on their respective ministries, departments

and agencies.

The deadline for submission of the reports to the

Presidential Audit Committee in the office of the Vice

President was April 24.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai

Mohammed, had said that despite the valedictory session

today, the cabinet will not be dissolved simultaneously.

In a statement issued in Abuja on 25 April, the minister said

it is the prerogative of President Muhammadu Buhari to

dissolve the cabinet anytime he chooses.

The statement signed by the Special Adviser to the

Minister, Mr Segun Adeyemi, clarified the minister’s earlier

statement to State House correspondents after Thursday’s

FEC meeting in Abuja.

‘’It is inaccurate to extrapolate from my statement – that

the FEC valedictory session will hold on 22 May – to say

that the President will dissolve the cabinet on the same

day.

“They do not mean the same thing,” he said.

Some of the Original Ministers:

Chris Ngige – (Anambra) Minister of Labour & Employment,

Rotimi Amaechi – (Rivers) Minister of Transportation,

Babatunde Fashola -(Lagos) Minister of Power, Works and

Housing, Abdulrahman Dambazau- (Kano) Minister of

Interior, Ogbonaya Onu- (Ebonyi) Minister of Science and

Technology, Abubakar Malami – (Kebbi) Minister of Justice

& Attorney-General.

Sen Hadi Sirika – (Katsina) Minister of State, Aviation, Barr.

Adebayo Shittu – (Oyo) Minister of Communication,

Suleiman Adamu – (Jigawa) Minister of Water Resources,

Solomon Dalong – (Plateau) Minister for Youth and Sports,

Ibe Kachikwu – (Delta) Minister of State, Petroleum.

Dr Osagie Ehanire – (Edo) Minister of State, Health, Audu

Ogbeh – (Benue) Minister of Agriculture, Udo Udo Udoma –

(Akwa Ibom) Minister of Budget & National Planning, Lai

Mohammed – (Kwara) Minister of Information, Ibrahim

Usman Jibril – (Nasarawa) Minister of State, Environment.

Cladius Omoleye Daramola (Ondo) Minister of State, Niger

Delta, Prof Anthony Onwuka (Imo) Minister of State,

Education, Geoffrey Onyeama (Enugu) Minister of Foreign

Affairs, Dan Ali (Zamfara) Minister of Defence, Zainab

Ahmed (Kaduna) formerly Minister of State Budget and

National Planning and now Minister of Finance

Okechukwu Enelamah (Abia) Minister of Trade, Investment

& Industry, Muhammadu Bello (Adamawa) Minister of

Federal Capital Territory, Mustapha Baba Shehuri (Borno)

Minister of State, Power, Aisha Abubakar (Sokoto) Minister

of State, Trade & Investment and also took over the

Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa) Minister of State, Agriculture,

Adamu Adamu (Bauchi) Minister of Education, Isaac

Adewole (Osun) Minister of Health, Abubakar Bawa Bwari

(Niger) Minister of State for Mines, Pastor Usani Uguru

(Cross River) Minister of Niger Delta.