The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan announced that he has received the list of ministerial nominees for confirmation from President Muhammadu Buhari. We believe the most anticipated appointments are the nominees for the position of Finance and Petroleum ministers.
Since the news broke that the Senate President had received the list, several dailies claim to have information about the names of the President’s ministerial nominees and have gone ahead to publish those names. We compile these names in a table (on page 2). Two names on the list that look likely to take the position of the Minister of Finance are Zainab Ahmed (Former Minister of Finance) and Tayo Alasoadura (Former Commissioner of Finance, Ondo State and a Former Senator).
According to the Nigerian constitution, the President must appoint at least one minister from each state of the Federation. The list contains one nominee from each state (36 nominees) as well as each geopolitical zone (7 nominees).
However, many of the names on the list are those of politicians and we struggle to see any technocrat on the list. From an economic development point of view, the list suggests there might not be a fundamental change in strategy and policy framework of the government in addressing the critical challenges facing the country. Notably, the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu was excluded from the published list.
At this point, we cannot say with certainty that these are President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees and wait for the list to be officially disclosed. The Senate is currently in a closed-door session as they discuss the ministerial list.
Boris Johnson Emerges UK Prime Minister
In a landmark victory, Boris Johnson defeated Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt to emerge as Theresa May’s successor on Downing street. He polled 92,153 votes to Jeremy Hunt’s 46, 656 votes at the end of the party’s election. Boris Johnson faces one of the biggest tasks for a UK politician in negotiating a Brexit deal acceptable to the parliament, uniting a fragmented Conservatives Party as well as handling the Iran crisis.
Based on his campaign promise, the UK risks a no-deal Brexit given Boris Johnson’s hard stance on the Brexit negotiations. The EU has announced that they are unwilling to renegotiate a fresh deal other than the one agreed with Theresa May. The UK parliament has however maintained a defiant stance on not passing the agreement. Thus, on a balance of factors, the risk of a no-deal Brexit is elevated.
In this event, the pound sterling may continue its prolonged weakness against major currencies. Additionally, this further strengthens concerns about global growth which may provide further impetus for policy easing on the path of systemically important central banks.