Ministerial hopefuls withdraw CVs

In from Olumide Olaoluwa ….

Unimpressed by the strict vetting rules of President Muhammadu Buhari, many ministerial hopefuls have started pulling out of the race, Ripples can authoritatively reveal.

It was learnt that many angling for ministerial appointments have started developing cold feet and withdrawing from the selection process.

Checks revealed that many chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have stepped down their lobbying machinery, fearful that Buhari might find incriminating evidence against them.

Presidential sources told our correspondent that the President is bent on appointing only people with impeccable records and backgrounds.

One of them said: “I can assure that the President will not back down on this requirement. Anyone that will be minister must be above board.”

It was gathered that the President is looking beyond competence and pedigree to zero in on incorruptibility.

“His zero tolerance for corruption means that he is not going for anything else. No matter how competent you are, if you are corrupt or have been compromised, you won’t get the job,” the source added.

Investigations revealed that Buhari has saddled security agencies with the responsibility of vetting the assets and worth of everyone suggested to him to become a minister.

Read also: Buhari ministers to sign pact against corruption

“We have a load of files on every nominee or suggested person. Anyone with questionable wealth and asset will not make it,” the source stressed.

It was learnt that the agencies have been secretly collating information on the assets of most ministerial hopefuls, a development that has disqualified most of them.

Owing to this strict adherence to vetting, many ministerial hopefuls, it was gathered, have started panicking and asking their contacts in the presidency to withdraw their CVs.

“Many of them don’t want their dirty linens out in the public. They would rather enjoy their loot than risk being vetted and disgraced,” another source confided.

The President, another source said, has hinted that all ministerial hopefuls with questionable wealth must be quizzed and the loots recovered from them.

The development, it was learnt, has sent cold shivers to their spines, forcing them to hand off further pressure on the President for appointment.

They were said to have been further angered by the disclosure that Buhari will not concede the right to award contracts to cabinet members.

One of the hopefuls confided in our correspondent: “If you cannot award contract, why are you a minister then? The man has taken away powers from ministers. So, who will want to be one again?”

A former Head of Service very close to former President Olusegun Obasanjo was said to have been a major casualty of the strict vetting process.

The former HOS was said to have told Obasanjo to help push his appointment as Chief of Staff to President Buhari.

Read also: Buhari to cut down ministries

But when his records were checked, it was discovered he acquired assets worth billions of naira without legitimate means.

He was said to have begged the former President to stop the lobbying process to save himself the ignominy of being found out.

Our correspondent was informed that of all the hopefuls vetted, less than five percent of them, mostly in the Diaspora, came out unscathed.

This, it was further learnt, might force the President to look more to Nigerians in the Diaspora to constitute his new cabinet.

It was also gathered that the rigorous vetting process is why the President cannot form his cabinet until at least another six weeks.

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