Shehu Garba explains why it took Buhari six months to form cabinet in 2015

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu has explained why it took his boss, Muhammadu Buhari six months to form his cabinet in the year 2015.

Shehu who revealed this on Thursday in a birthday tribute to the President titled, ‘Anti-Corruption Hero, President Buhari Leads by Example’, said that it took Buhari nearly six months to form his cabinet because he was meeting with permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies one after the other.

According to Shehu, President Buhari sat at long meetings with teams led by Permanent Secretaries and heads of the various government agencies and departments and those meetings took a few months.

Shehu added that the long meetings with Permanent Secretaries and heads of the various government agencies were responsible for the delay in the appointment of ministers into his first cabinet.

READ ALSO: Shehu Garba misses Buhari’s call, gets SMS

He said; “Upon his assumption of office in May, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari sat at long meetings with teams led by Permanent Secretaries and heads of the various government agencies and departments. Those meetings took a few months to go round and were in effect, responsible for the delay in the appointment of ministers into his first cabinet.

“Before his inauguration, President-elect Muhammadu Buhari wasn’t allowed to meet government officials, just as we witnessed in America recently, until the incumbent President agreed that the incoming President Joe Biden be met and briefed.”

On initiatives like the Treasury Single Account, the Bank Verification Number and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, by the government of Goodluck Jonathan, Garba Shehu said; “President Buhari found very progressive policies on the drawing boards, the Bank Verification Number, BVN; the Treasury single Account and the IPPIS Payroll service which the previous government failed to implement and promptly put the mechanism in place for their implementation. Arising from this, gains from savings are today being counted in trillions of naira.”

Shehu also claimed that; “A young Nigerian designer, very successful abroad, produced a gold wristwatch of the famous Rolex brand and embossed the picture of the President on its face. The President commended the success of the young man’s brand overseas, asked him to keep the name of Nigeria flying but directed that the gift be politely returned. The young entrepreneur picked up his precious wristwatch and left.”

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