As the dust is still settling on circumstances surrounding President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to sack two of his ministers, permutations on their likely replacements are taking clearer shapes.
The two ministers relieved of their duties on September 1, Sabo Nanono (Agriculture) and Saleh Mamman (Power) are from Kano and Taraba States and their kinsmen have begun lobbying in earnest to ensure their replacements come from their States.
In Kano State, two names have been on the lips of the political class in the state as the likely successor to Nanono.
A former Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on National Assembly Matters, Suleiman AbdulRahman, also known as Kawu Sumaila, and serving Senior Special Assistant on National Social Investment Programme to the President, Is’maeel Buba Ahmed, are already being projected as potential ministerial appointees from Kano State to return Kano’s slot to two in the federal cabinet.
Bashir Magashi, the minister of Defence is the other cabinet member from the State, which is regarded as Buhari votes’ bank.
Kawu Sumaila, a three-time House of Representatives member and Ahmed are both founding members of the ruling APC, with the latter currently serving as a member of the party’s National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Committee.
Many political analysts in Kano believe Ahmed’s training as a legal practitioner as well as his youthfulness may stand him out for consideration They said, as a lawyer, Ahmed may be best suited for the Ministry of Environment, whose minister has been asked to take over at the Ministry of Power.
However, while the voices in support of their choice and others, like a former deputy governor of the state, Hafiz Abubakar, have been the loudest, those against their consideration have begun to gather momentum.
According to a top supporter of President Buhari in Kano, Alhaji Abdulmajid Danbilki, (popularly known as Commander), what is needed are people who will complement Buhari’s positive efforts in assisting the common man to be considered for top positions.
He added that, as ardent supporters of Buhari, they will not allow the leadership of APC in Kano to submit any name without their approval.
Like Danbilki, Alhaji Shehu Dalhatu, the chairman of Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) in Kano, also lamented that “everybody is Buhari until they get appointment” and thereafter forget the masses, who, he said, are the real pillar behind the president.
