Tinubu swears in new ministers as FEC meets today

President Bola Tinubu will today (Monday) swear in three additional ministers into his 48-person cabinet.

A senior official in the Presidency, who did not want his name mentioned because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, confirmed to the Punch that the three new ministers will be sworn into office at the Council Chamber of the State House before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council meeting.

Monday’s FEC meeting is the second since Tinubu’s inauguration as President on May 29. It is coming after a 48-day hiatus.

The Council has not convened since its inaugural meeting on August 28. A week earlier, on August 21, Tinubu swore in and inaugurated 45 ministers.

The three additional ministers to be sworn in are Jamila Bio, Ayodele Olawande and Balarabe Lawal from Kaduna State.

Bio and Olawande are expected to be sworn in as the Minister of Youth and the Minister of State for Youth, respectively.

Following a letter by Tinubu, the Senate had no October 4 screened and confirmed the three additional ministers.

Lawal from Kaduna State replaces a former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, whose ministerial nomination was rejected by the Senate.

Lawal served as Secretary to the Kaduna State Government during El-Rufai’s administration.

The source said, “There will be a FEC meeting at 12 pm tomorrow (Monday) and all three of them—Bio, Olawande and Lawal—will take the oath before the meeting starts proper.”

President Tinubu had, on August 21, sworn in and inaugurated 45 ministers who attended the maiden cabinet meeting at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja on August 28.

Article 144 (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) recognises the “Executive Council of the Federation” (the Federal Executive Council) as the “body of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, howsoever called, established by the President and charged with such responsibilities for the functions of government as the President may direct.”

The Council’s purpose is to formulate policies, execute government projects, and, more broadly, aid the President in discharging his executive functions.