Nigeria's Buhari sends second batch of cabinet nominees to parliament

President Muhammadu Buhari has submitted a second list of candidates for his cabinet to the upper house of parliament for approval, Senate President Bukola Saraki said on his Twitter feed on Monday. He did not disclose the 15 names but is expected to read them out in parliament on Tuesday. Buhari submitted a first list with 21 names to the Senate earlier this month. He needs to nominate 36 candidate to fulfill the constitutional need for a minister from each of Nigeria's states. Buhari, a former military ruler, has been criticized for failing to appoint a cabinet since taking office on May 29, while Africa's biggest oil-dependent economy has been hit by a plunge in crude prices. Among prominent names in the first list published by Saraki last week was Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the head of the state oil company. Saraki did not specify portfolios, but oil industry sources say Kachikwu is expected to become state minister of petroleum to oversee daily operations under Buhari. The president has told Reuters he would hold the petroleum ministry portfolio himself. Buhari appointed Kachikwu, a former Exxon- Mobil manager, to head state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) last August, after firing the previous board in an overhaul to fight graft and mismanagement. Buhari's other cabinet nominations in the first published list included former state governors such as Babatunde Fashola, the former governor of the commercial capital, Lagos. He also proposed Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of the oil producing Rivers State. SoURCE: REUTERS