“How I Joined Ruling Party to Be Confirmed As Minister,” Usman Discloses in Trending Interview

• Former Minister of Finance and National Planning Shamsuddeen Usman has made some revelations about his ministerial role
• He also shared how he was confirmed minister just by joining a ruling party during the period he was appointed as minister
• In an interview that has gone viral, Usman, Usman shared the reason some ministers are unable to implement key reforms and made key suggestions

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Former Minister of Finance and National Planning Shamsuddeen Usman said becoming a minister in Nigeria requires deft navigation of many political maneuvers.

Usman, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday, September 25, said there is a lot of “scheming” that makes ministers unable to excellently execute many reforms they loudly propound before their appointments.

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He said:

“There are a lot of things that you try to do but the political system is set in such a way that is very difficult to get things done properly.

“Public servants are put there to protect public interest but unfortunately for many public servants whether they are politicians, whether they are members of the National Assembly, whether they are in the executive, whether they are civil servants, a lot of people, their interest tends to overtake public interest. And therefore, instead of being agents of the public, they become principals because it is their interests that are primed.”

How he became a minister for joining ruling party

Taking a trip down memory lane, Usman said he had to rush to his hometown in Kano state to join the ruling party at the time to be confirmed as a minister.

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He said:

“For example, the day I was appointed minister, somebody alerted me that: ‘Hey, for you to get confirmed as a minister, you have to register as a member of a political party’.

“Because as of that time, I was not a member of any political party, I had to rush to Kano to my ward and register. And there are also some requirements by the Senate before you can get confirmed. Those tidbits I gave were to highlight that the life of a minister is never simple, straightforward, get the job done. No, unfortunately, there are some political issues that you have to handle, scheming and all.”

The ex-minister said it took some work for him to get senators from his state to support his nomination during his screening by the upper legislative chamber.

“The first thing you learn as a minister is to learn how to manage the territory,” he said, adding that a minister must stay close to the programmes of the president to be successful.

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Usman served as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance from June 2007 to January 2009 and later as Minister of National Planning until September 2013, during the administrations of Presidents Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan.

Cabinet reshuffling: Tinubu gives fresh order to ministers

Earlier, Legit.ng reported President Bola Tinubu's government confirmed that cabinet reshuffling of his administration is imminent.

The presidency confirmed the development on Wednesday. He added that Tinubu had issued a directive to the minister.

This came amid controversies on which of the ministers would be affected by the imminent reshuffling.

Source: Legit.ng