Nigeria's Jonathan Consolidates Hold

摘要

Nigeria's acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, is preparing a list of nominees for ministerial positions to present to Congress soon, as he moves to consolidate authority after dissolving the cabinet on Wednesday. Jonathan is not expected to go for radical change, but rather to expedite most of the reforms promoted by President Umaru Yar'Adua, who has been gravely ill since November. These include reviving the flagging Niger Delta peace process, electoral reform, expanding power supply and reforming the energy sector. He is also expected to reinstate a number of ministers from Yar'Adua's cabinet. It could take time to square all new nominees with state governors, who normally wield some influence over cabinet posts, and get them ratified by lawmakers.