President Muhammadu Buhari says his government and Nigeria cannot afford to pay 42 ministers like the past government did and that not all the ministerial nominees that have been screened will have portfolios. He also said that he would reduce the number of ministries.
In an interview with Channels TV and Nigerian Television Authority in New Delhi, India President Buhari said that he is working with a team of people introduced to him by others that he trust and must work with them.
“This is team work I said I know people but there are people that I accept from other people in our team that I trust without even knowing them.
“May be those that are having problem in the National Assembly I doubt if I have meet him in my life but then I am working with others.
“I did not walk into the presidency alone. I have to defend on all the three tiers of government from all parts of the country,” he said.
He said the 36 ministerial nominees were chosen because he cannot work out outside the constitution and that ministers must be appointed in conformity with the constitution of the Federal Government in that ministerial appointment must reflect the 36 states of the country.
“We can not work outside constitution there must be a cabinet representative from each state.
“There used to be forty two minister but I think we can barely keep half of that now because we cannot afford it.
“Other may not be substantive ministers but they will seat in the cabinet because that is what the constitution said and we can’t operate outside the constitution
“We are reducing the number of ministries we can’t afford to pay,” he said.
On his ambition to see that the dreaded Boko Haram group is crushed by December, the president said that he is optimistic that the military will win the war.
“I am an optimistic person. I am sorry for those who have already given up. I remain confident that our military and other law enforcement agencies are more than equal to the task.
“Don’t forget that I made an earlier statement to the effect that the Nigerian military and police earned accolades all over the world: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, etc.
“They earned international respect and then here you are, the Nigerian military and other law enforcement agencies could not secure 14 local governments out of 774 until the government was changed,” Buhari said.