By Felix Onuah
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian Acting President Goodluck Jonathan installed a new cabinet on Tuesday, a move his supporters hope will herald a period of stronger government and ease months of political uncertainty.
Jonathan assigned portfolios to 38 new cabinet ministers, including senior Goldman Sachs executive With his own team in place, Jonathan can now assert his authority and revive reforms that stalled after ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua stepped away from the public eye last November. "I have confidence in this team, which I believe reflects on the federal government's commitment to take bold steps in solving the nation's problems," Jonathan told reporters after a swearing-in ceremony. Yar'Adua has suffered ill health for a number of years and in 2009 travelled to Saudi Arabia to be treated for acute pericarditis, a heart condition. Since returning to Nigeria in February he has started to receive religious delegations at his home in the capital Abuja, raising questions about whether his health is improving. Only 13 months remain of the presidential term, and the acting president has focussed the OPEC member's political agenda on electoral reforms, security in the oil-producing Niger Delta, providing more reliable electricity and fighting corruption. The new ministers, including 13 returnees from the outgoing cabinet, will be crucial in achieving these goals in Africa's biggest energy producer. "The formation of the new government is a sign that the acting president is asserting himself ... despite the political uncertainty associated with Yar'Adua's health condition," said Samir Gadio, Lagos-based African strategist at Renaissance Capital. An Islamic cleric that prayed with Yar'Adua last week said the president had some difficulty speaking but he believed he would recover from his illness. A power struggle at the helm could limit progress and stall government business in sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy, which is largely dependent on its vast oil and gas industries. There is an unwritten agreement among the political elite that the presidency should alternate between north and south every two presidential terms. Yar'Adua, a northerner, is currently in his first term. SOME SURPRISES Jonathan surprised many with the appointment of Madueke, the country's first female oil minister, and also the replacement of Mohammed Barkindo as head of state-run oil firm NNPC. Shehu Ladan, a retired NNPC executive, was chosen to be his successor. "What is worrying is (Madueke's) performance in the past was not inspiring. She couldn't make any impact both at the works ministry and solid minerals ministry," said Reuben Abati, chairman of the editorial board for Nigeria's Guardian newspapers. Madueke and Ladan will be in charge of implementing legislation, currently before parliament, that would overhaul the energy industry and turn NNPC into a profit-driven company. "The change is to inject new blood in NNPC and refocus it in a new direction because NNPC should be a global player, like (Brazil's oil firm) Petrobras," Jonathan said. The acting president named Godsday Orubebe as the Niger Delta minister, responsible for developing the oil-producing region as part of a federal amnesty programme. Considered the most comprehensive peace effort in the region for years, hundreds of former militants have surrendered their weapons for clemency, a monthly stipend and job opportunities. But little progress has been made in the programme's implementation and talks have yet to take place with the country's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). "As long as it does not deal with the justice and root issues, any minister there will not have any influence on the actions we will eventually take to force a change," MEND said in an email to Reuters. (Additional reporting by Oludare Mayowa; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Matthew Jones)
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