Former Edo State State Governor Adams Oshiomhole on Sunday advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to appoint the best hands as ministers.
Oshiomhole made the charge yesterday while speaking on Channels Television Politics on Sunday.
Screening of the nominees may begin this week.
The former governor, now a Senator, who claimed he was yet to see the list, however, said Tinubu must not reward patronage with incompetence.
According to him, those to be appointed must be competent.
He said: “Appointing quality people was the heart of our campaigns and we all acknowledged that one of the gifts of President Tinubu based on what he did in Lagos, is his ability to hunt talents.
“He is not known to surround himself with yes-yes men. He surrounds himself with people whose opinions can be different from his. That was a selling point we sold to Nigerians.
“I’ll expect that now that he is dealing with a much bigger entity, Nigeria, he can only look for the very best without sentiment.
“There are ways to compensate people, but that should not be at the expense of the deliverables.
“No one can give to the nation what he or she does not possess.”
The Senator, who also lamented the lack of data, urged Tinubu to ensure he reduces the cost of governance in public service, adding having credible data could help in cutting the cost of governance.
“I guess the challenge the government is facing is the absence of reliable data.
“For those in the informal sector, from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s era, billions of naira have been spent on the need to have credible national data, yet that is not available. I think the government needs to look at how to solve that problem.
“There’s nothing wrong with cash transfers, but the challenge is the lack of reliable data.
“The real cost of governance is the wastage even in the bureaucracies. There is no question that there is huge and avoidable waste in the government.
“I will expect that this President will make conscious efforts to as much as possible reduce the cost of governance.”
Speaking of price increases of fuel and other commodities, Oshiomhole said it was normal for any commodity with import content to fluctuate.
But he said that could be addressed if those in charge of monetary policy ensure the stability of the naira.
“I urge those in charge of the nation’s monetary policy to ensure the naira is stable.
“And once the naira is not stable, prices of any product that has import content will continue to fluctuate.
“So, I recommend that the monetary authorities have to bring some stability to the naira.”
The Senator urged the Federal Government to break the monopoly of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on oil products, saying it will make the market more competitive.
“NNPC is still a monopoly player and as a monopolist, they will find ways to cover their inefficiencies.
“We need to have a truly competitive petroleum market. A true market doesn’t have one operator.”
