Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity on Thursday gave insight into why the president allowed most Ministers in his cabinet to serve for four and eight years without replacing them throughout his tenure.
Minister of Education Adamu Adamu, who is Nigeria’s longest serving Education minister had admitted that he had no knowledge of the education sector when President Buhari appointed him to man the Federal Ministry of Education.
“I didn’t know anything about the education sector when I was appointed Minister except superficially. But when Buhari decided to make me Minister of Education,” Adamu had said.
However in his weekly article titled ‘PMB Lands Softly On A Sofa Floor’, Adesina said Buhari doesn’t hire and fire Ministers like other leaders because he was not a vindictive man.
According to him, the only reason Buhari can sack Ministers is if they are engaged in corrupt acts or commit other serious offence.
He wrote “Do you know that Ministers rarely spend four years in position, not to talk of eight years? But a lot did under Buhari, because he’s not a supercilious man, who just likes to sack for the kick he would get from it”.
“Yes, some appointors love to play God over their appointees. They hire and fire at will, just because they have the powers. For some other leaders, it’s job for the boys. You serve for a year or two, and you are dropped, so that the largesse can go round. Not Buhari”.
“Unless you fall short of the mark, you are caught with your hand in the cookie jar, or commit some other grave malfeasance, then you can be sure of a guaranteed time. You have been called to serve, and not to be ridiculed and humiliated out of office”.