Buhari: My Ministers Round Pegs In Round Holes

Nigeria on Wednesday finally got a new government after more than five months of waiting, as 36 ministers and junior ministers swore the oath of allegiance and were assigned formal roles.

The ceremony at President Muhammadu Buhari's official residence in the capital, Abuja, brought to an end 166 days in which he has effectively been in sole charge of Africa's leading economy.




Buhari described the appointments as a "milestone" and indicated it had taken so long to decide because of the need to put "round pegs in round holes" with the right people for the job.

President Muhammadu Buhari says he is confident that members of his cabinet will perform well on the tasks assigned to them because they are “round pegs in round holes”. The president said this after administering the oath of allegiance to the ministers at the presidential villa, and added that in choosing them, he avoided mistakes of the past, where ministers performed poorly. ‎

“Today we witness the swearing-in of new ministers of the government of the federal republic of Nigeria,” he said. ‎ “We want to work towards a prosperous nation respected for the right reasons, and whose citizens can hold up their heads anywhere in the world.‎ “We are optimistic that bringing these set of ministers into the service of our country today is a step in the right direction and timely move towards realising our positive goals for our country. ‎ 

“Since we assumed office in May, I had been mindful of the need to ensure that the appointment of new ministers translate into a round pegs in round holes while showing sensitivity to our diversity as a people and our various positions as groups of stakeholders of our country. “I have also been conscious of the need not to repeat such mistakes of the past where the right people were allocated the wrong portfolios, which translated into their performing poorly to our collective detriment despite their obvious capability.” 

He assigned portfolios to all the 36 ministers, contrary to speculations that some ministers would be members of the federal executive council (FEC), but without offices.