Aftermath of Osinbajo’s meeting with Buhari: Ministers jittery as cabinet reshuffle looms

The effect of the sudden visit of the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to President Muhammadu Buhari in London is about to unfold as Osinbajo is set to assert his full powers in running the affairs of government in the country.

It was gathered though Osinbajo did not give the details of his meeting with Buhari, a credible source at the presidency confided in The Daily Times that some changes will definitely to take place shortly.

The source, who sought anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, further disclosed on Wednesday that a cabinet reshuffle is on the card.

The development was said to have caused anxiety among ministers who are anxious to know who will be affected in the impending exercise arising from the historic London visit by Osinbajo.

Recalled that two ministers – Stephen Ocheni (Kogi State ) and Suleiman Hassan ( Gombe State) who had been confirmed by the Senate are yet to be sworn-in due to the pending cabinet reshuffle.

The source said, “I can tell you authoritatively that the sudden departure of Osinbajo to London to see Buhari would definitely have a ripple effects because with the one-on-one discussion between Buhari and Osinbajo, certain decisions will soon be made and one of such is the pending cabinet reshuffle.

“You will agree with me that there is a need to rejig the cabinet as we have spent two out of Buhari’s four years mandate. There is the need to effect a desirable change so as to refocus the administration.

It is unfortunate when some people queried why the Acting President was reluctant in swearing in the two ministers. But what people did not realize is that it is one presidency and Osinbajo is loyal to Buhari. And there is no way he will reshuffle the cabinet without discussing with Buhari. Don’t forget that Osinbajo often says that a president remains a president while the acting president is the acting president working with one goal – to change the country for the better.

“But I will not be able to give you the details of the reshuffle but shortly, everything will soon unfold while the two ministers will be part of the government.

During the meeting in London that lasted for over an hour, Buhari and Osinbajo discussed intensively on the need to change the approach to certain issues so as to put Nigeria back on trajectory growth path.

Some of the major decisions that would be taken by the acting President, the source said, include certain far reaching decisions. But the source refused to give the details.

According to the source, the prolong impasse between the executive and the legislature would be resolved in due course, adding that Buhari and Osinbajo had deliberated on the issue while reviewing the situation for adequate consultations.

Another issue that was discussed during the London meeting was the issue of name dropping of the President. Buhari said to have told Osinbajo that it was wrong for certain people to drop his name for selfish reason.

The source said, ” You know that the President is a man of integrity and he abhors favouritism and nepotism. The president is not happy about this. For those who are dropping his name, they will soon regret their actions as necessary efforts are being put in place to address the issue.”
The source also disclosed that the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation Mr Babachir David Lawal and the Director General of National Intelligence Agency (NI) Ambassador Ayo Oke would soon know their fates as Buhari and Osinbajo had concluded on the next line of action.

He added that the federal government action on the duo would be made public shortly.

In a related development, Osinbajo on Wednesday, said that President Muhammadu Buhari would be back to Nigeria very soon, contrary to news making the rounds that the president was incapacitated.

Osinbajo had on Tuesday jetted out to Lodon to meet with Buhari who has been on medical vacation in the UK since May 7.

The acting President, shortly after his return from London, told State House Correspondents at the Aso Villa Abuja that Buhari and himself had a good conversation on wide range of issues and he (Buhari) “is in a very good spirit.”

Osinbajo also said that Buhari was recuperating very quickly and “he is doing very well.”

He said; “I think very very shortly. Very shortly. I think we should really expect him back very shortly. Like I said he is recuperating very fast and he is doing very very well.”

On when the presidency will swear in the two ministers confirmed recently by the Senate, Osinbajo said “Well, I’m not in a position to say anything. I don’t have a date in mind but I’m sure very very soon we will do that.”

When asked about the specific date in which Buhari would return, Osinbajo simply said, “No no. Deadlines aren’t a very good thing but as I said he is recuperating fast we expecting him very shortly. Much sooner than you will expect.”

“First, as you know I went to see him, I went to check up on him, find out how he was doing. I had of course been speaking with him on the phone and I thought it will be a good thing to go and see him and you know generally check up on how he was doing and also to brief him on developments back at home.

“So we had a very good time, we had a very good conversation on wide ranging issues and he is in very good spirit, he is recuperating very quickly and he is doing very well.

“As I have said, he is in very high spirit, he is recuperating very well and we had very long conversation, we spoke for well over an hour and his humour is all there. He is doing well and he is recuperating fast.”

Osinbajo, who was also asked if the report of the suspended SGF and NIA DG was part of his conversation with Buhari in London, said that they discussed wide range of issues, adding that, “I really can’t go into specifics of all the discussions we had.”

Source: Dailly Times