The president elect may scrap ministers of state

Buhari, is said to be contemplating on the reduction of the number
of ministers as part of his strategies for reducing cost of
governance.
Firstclass newsline gathered that this formed part of the cost-saving
proposals which Buhari presented during the All Progressives
Congress's National Working Committee meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.
Those to be done away with are ministers of state.
The NWC which is yet to conclude its deliberations on proposals,
according a high-ranking member of the APC NWC, include streamlining
the ministries and parastatals.
The NWC member said, "No concrete decision has been reached on any of
the issues yet. We are still meeting tomorrow."
The meeting, which was chaired by the party's National Chairman, John
Odigie-Oyegun, also reviewed the just-concluded general elections, the
deadlock in the Taraba State governorship poll as well as the alleged
electoral fraud in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Lai Mohammed, who
spoke to journalists during a short break by the committee, confirmed
that the NWC reviewed the governorship election.
He also said that with the "election behind us, we have to prepare the
ground for the transition committee and for the business of the
governance."
When asked to comment on the proposals made by Buhari on streamlining
the ministries and parastatals, he dismissed the question.
Mohammed said, "I think you have been listening to a lot of gossip;
nothing like that was discussed. All we discussed was to make
recommendations into the transition committee; how the government
should hit the ground running and what should be the immediate,
mid-term and long term policies of the incoming government. So, all
these issues of ministers and MDAs, are your own imagination.
Responding to another question on power sharing, he said, "This
government is not going to be like before; we discussed serious issues
and honestly, I am telling you what we discussed since morning has
been what should be the priority of the incoming government.
"Power sharing was not discussed. I don't know who gave you
information on what was discussed and not discussed. Anyway, we are
going to resume the discussion tomorrow (today).
He said the party was not satisfied with what happened in Akwa Ibom,
Rivers, Taraba and Imo states.
Earlier, the party's candidate in the Taraba State governorship race,
Aisha Alhassan, who joined the meeting at some point, drove out of the
party's headquarters at 7.48pm.
She declined comments when reporters approached her. It was however
learnt that the NWC received a briefing from her about the happenings
in the state after which she answered a few questions and was allowed
to leave.
Muhammed also declined to make public the names of the chairman and
members of the transition committee.
It was however learnt that the Vice-President- Elect, Yemi Osinbajo,
would chair the Buhari transition committee.
Meanwhile, the National Organising Secretary of the APC , Osita
Izunaso and a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipreye Sylva, have
condemned the April 11 elections in the South -East and the South-
South.
They said but for the timely intervention of the APC leaders, the
people in some states of the regions would have taken the laws into
their hands.
Sylva said the APC and its members especially in Bayelsa State, were
confronted with a choice between winning the elections and protecting
the lives of the people who were being attacked, intimidated and
killed.
Firstclassnewsline.net