From: Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Eleven weeks after they were confirmed by the Senate, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo administered oath of office to Prof. Stephen Ocheni from Kogi State and Suleiman Hassan from Gombe State as ministers of the Federal Republic.
They both took their oath of office at exactly 11:18a.m. after members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had recited the National Anthem and opening prayers were said the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah.
The Acting President charged them to key into the administration’s economic reforms programme as well as security and anti-graft war.
Osinbajo said the portfolio of the new ministers would be announced shortly.
The new ministers immediately after official photographs with their colleagues as well as with the Acting President with members of their family, joined the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council.
Ocheni replaced James Ocholi who was killed in a motor accident in 2016 while Suleiman replaced Hajia Amina Mohammed who resigned to take up an appointment as the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations (UN).
There was a bit of drama when, after taking his oath, Ocheni set about to shake all the ministers seated in the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa but had to be dragged back by an official to enable the rest of the proceedings to go on.
Speaking shortly after administering the oath of office on the new ministers, Osinbajo expressed the Federal Government’s commitment to implementing economic reform programmes to make a difference in the lives and livelihood of Nigerians.