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Muhammadu Buhari

LAGOS. — Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday he had submitted a cabinet list to parliament for approval but asked Nigerians to continue to be patient with his four-month search for a government. Buhari has said he intends to remain in personal control of the oil ministry as he pursues an anti-corruption campaign.

He won elections in March partly on his tough stance on corruption. He has vowed to trace and recover the “mind-boggling” sums of money that have been stolen from the oil sector.

Oil exports account for around 90 percent of Nigeria’s foreign currency earnings and because of low oil prices, the country faces tough economic challenges.

Foreign investors and Nigerian businessman have criticised Buhari, a 72-year old former military ruler, for taking so long to nominate cabinet members when Africa’s largest economy is taking a hammering from a plunge in oil prices.

“Impatience is not a virtue,” Buhari, who took office on May 29, said in a televised speech on Independence Day. “The first set of names for ministerial nominees has been sent to the Senate. Subsequent lists will be forwarded in due course.”

Buhari gave no names or time frame, saying only: “Careful and deliberate decisions after consultations get far better results.”

He stressed he was restructuring the mismanaged state oil firm NNPC and conducting audits of key state institutions such as the central bank and customs and tax authorities as part of the anti-graft campaign that got him elected in March.

Buhari, a former military ruler, did not offer a concrete action plan to tackle an economic crisis as oil prices have eroded public finances, sent the naira currency plunging and delayed payment of public sector salaries. “Prudent housekeeping is needed now more than ever in view of the sharp decline in world market oil prices,” he said. “It is a challenge we have to face squarely.”

Senate President Bukola Saraki will read the cabinet list to the upper house of parliament on Tuesday, the Senate said in a statement. — Reuters.