Buhari’s cabinet to hold valedictory session May 22, says Minister
Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
Cabinet members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration may not be dissolved as earlier reported but would have to remain till May 22 when a valedictory session for the cabinet will be held.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this on Thursday while fielding questions from State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday in Abuja.
Mohammed said, “We will be having a valedictory session on 22nd May. The cabinet remains intact.”
According to him, the President is scheduled to hold a valedictory session with members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on May 22nd after which the cabinet will be dissolved ahead of his inauguration.
Buhari will be sworn-in on 29th May to begin another four year term in office. But the Information Minister said, “ministers, as directed by President Buhari are already preparing their handover notes to be submitted to Permanent Secretaries in their respective ministries before the administration winds down completely.
President Buhari had on Thursday, April 25, proceeded on a 10-day private visit to the United Kingdom (UK).
Last week, April 17 precisely, the President directed ministers to immediately submit a comprehensive status report of their policies and projects on or before April 24th to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
However, in a self-counter reaction, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the fact that the valedictory session of the federal cabinet will be held on 22 May 2019, does not mean that the cabinet will be dissolved on the same day.
Clarifying his earlier statement, the Minister said it is the prerogative of the President to dissolve the cabinet anytime he chooses.
”It is therefore inaccurate to extrapolate from my statement – that the FEC valedictory session will hold on 22 May – to say that the President will dissolve the cabinet on the same day. They do not mean the same thing,” he said.
