Buhari took six months to pick ministers. A new law won’t let Tinubu do same

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed a bill amending the constitution to compel newly elected presidents and governors to pick members of their cabinets within two months of assuming office.

– A key point to note

With the new law, Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, will have to name his cabinet within 60 days after taking the oath of office on May 29 and transmit same for confirmation by the senate.

– Why this matters

Until now, presidents and governors had free hand to form cabinets within their chosen time frames, and most new leaders picked their ministers and commissioners largely within the 60-day period.

That changed in 2015 when Mr Buhari took six months to name his ministers, the longest known duration of any new administration at least since 1999.

Analysts point to that delay as one of the reasons for the country faced early economic problems and the 2016 recession.

Federal lawmakers have since then pushed for legal measures to quicken things up, resulting in the amendment of the constitution by the Senate and House of Representatives.

– Learn more

The new law is amongst 16 bills signed into law by the president weeks to the end of his second 4-year tenure. He also assented to a law granting financial independence for state judiciary and houses of assembly, according to Babajide Omoworare, his senior special assistant on national assembly matters.

Mr Omoworare, who serves the president in the senate, made the announcement on Friday in a statement. The statement says the president also signed bills that have removed railway, prison, and electricity from the exclusive control of the federal government.

The 16 bills signed into law are only part of a total of 35 bills concurred by the 24 states of the federation and sent for the president’s assent.

In March 2022, the national assembly transmitted 44 bills it had passed to the state houses of assembly for approval. Only 35 bills were approved.

Among bills not approved by the states was a bill granting financial and legislative autonomy for local governments.

The Nigerian constitution requires two-thirds of all the states assembly — 24 states — to approve constitutional amendment bills.