FOUR ministers will be quitting the cabinet later this month to run as governorship candidates for the states in next year's elections in line with the constitutional provision dictating that they quit their appointments three months ahead of the polls.
Nigeria's Electoral Act 2010 states that political office seekers must resign their appointments three months before elections and President Goodluck Jonathan has told all ministers planning to run in next year February's elections to resign before the end of October.
As a result, information minister Labaran Maku, health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu, minister of state for defence Musiliu Obanikoro and minister of state for education Nyesom Wike are all due to resign soon.
Mr Maku is to resign on October 20 to pursue his ambition of becoming the Nasarawa State governor, while Professor Chukwu has already been endorsed as the consensus governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State. Mr Obanikoro is seeking the PDP governorship ticket in Lagos State, while Mr Wike is gunning for the party’s governorship candidacy in Rivers State.
“Just thank God for me and pray for me because by next week October 20, anyone in the cabinet that wants to contest election must step down because the time has come for us to do that. It is time to make my interest known and by the grace of God, I will sacrifice the comfort of a minister, to go into the wilderness.
“I want to sacrifice the comfort of the high office that I am in now to join my people in the wilderness in Nasarawa State to fight for peace and justice in this state. There is too much blood being shed here, there is too much evil taking place here, there is too much destruction going on in Nasarawa State and the time has come for us to ask God to bring this era to an end," Mr Maku said.
Mr Obanikoro, a former chairman of the Lagos Island Local Government Area, was the commissioner for home affairs and culture in 1999 during the tenure of Governor Bola Tinubu. He joined the PDP later and in 2007 ran for governor but was defeated by Governor Babatunde Fashola.
Before he was appointed as health minister Professor Chukwu, was an academic, health administrator and an orthopaedic and trauma surgeon.
He is a fellow of both the West African and the International College of Surgeons and a member of the Board of Partnership for Maternal Newborn. For his part, Mr Wike was the chief of staff to the Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi before being appointed a minister.
He was charged with allegedly stealing N4.7bn by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in October 2008 but has constantly denied the allegations.
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