THE OLD BRIGADES AS BUHARI’S MINISTERS

Sunny Onuesoke

Director of Special Project to Delta State Governor, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has described some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees as recycled ‘old brigade’ who have been in and out of government with nothing to show for it.
Onuesoke who was reacting to the long-awaited ministerial list finally announced earlier on Tuesday, by the Senate President Bukola Saraki during plenary on the floor of the Red Chamber observed that nearly everybody on that list has been involved in government in one way or the other and at one level or the other since 1999, adding that quite a few of them have serious allegations against them.
“I do not see anything that resembles change as far as the ministerial team is concerned. Imagine bringing someone who served in the government of the late Sarduana of Sokoto to serve as minister in 2015,” Onuesoke who spoke to newsmen at Abuja noted.
Ascribing the ministerial list to Super Eagles when the Coach refused to look at all the options open to him and pick the same old used up legs, Onuesoke argued, “This is where the ‘change’ myth is lost. I for one believed this administration was going to pick young hungry unknown technocrats to change this country but the reverse is the case.”
He said Nigerians should be convinced by now that Buhari is not different and that no change has taken place, adding that one had thought President Buhari would not consider any of those believed to have destroyed our economy for the last 16 years but six month after being elected as the president and rigorous search for the “saints” to pilot the great ship of “change” Buhari disappointingly, came up with a list of actors who participated in the plundering of our economy these years.
“In fact we hope that those who would do the screening will do a thorough screening. If we are fighting corruption on one hand, then those who have been portrayed to be corrupt should not be promoted to higher responsibility.
“There are some who have governed at the state level and have been alleged to be corrupt. So, to jump that and move to become ministerial leaders, rubbishes the whole concept of our fight against corruption.
He maintained that his consolation lie on the believe that if the senate applied all the rules to the letter during the screening, then he did not see how many of those on the list can survive the exercise.