2015: Jonathan ‘Considers Petroleum Minister’s Sack’ There are indications that President Goodluck Jonathan May be seriously considering the sack of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. An on-line report yesterday hinted that the President may have resolved to ease the super minister out because of the groundswell of ‘scandals’ around her. Though the source cautioned that Jonathan’s resolve may not be absolute because there have been speculations in the past that he would sack the Petroleum Minister without him doing so, it was said that there are serious pressure on Jonathan’s administration to shed the toga of corruption by easing out Alison-Madueke,who has been the most criticized minister in his cabinet. The source told The Cable on-line that “don’t bet on it yet, because the matter has been on the president’s table for a while without him taking any action”. According to the source, the President, after sacking the minister may not appoint a substantive replacement till the end of his tenure. There are speculations however that a Mining Engineer, who was once Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), may be favored for the job. If Jonathan goes ahead with the plan, the arrangement will be similar to what obtained under former President Olusegun Obasanjo who operated with a special adviser for six out of his eight years in office. The source further said that it has become clear to the President that his second term bid will be affected by the Alison-Madueke baggage. Last month, there was a litany of negative editorials against Jonathan in the international media in which his government was labelled as corrupt based mainly on the allegations against the petroleum minister. An Aso Rock insider said: “If it is true that the president has finally decided to fire Diezani, then the spell has been broken.” A minister told TheCable that the conduct of Alison-Madueke at cabinet meetings had been “very embarrassing” at times.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 21:18:57 +0000
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