With President Bola Ahmed Tinubu scheduled to announce his ministerial nominees on Wednesday, Professor Gbolahan Elias, SAN, appears to be his likely pick for the role of Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, according to feelers from credible sources familiar with the development.
Elias, the current and 5th Chancellor of the Lagos State University, whose bid is being promoted by Femi Gbajabiamila, the President’s Chief of Staff, will represent Lagos if chosen.
THEWILL sources said the President had first offered the position to his controversial personal lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, who politely declined.
THEWILL also gathered that Ahmed Raji, SAN, whose candidature is being pushed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kayode Ariwoola, had been previously considered by President Tinubu without a commitment to the CJN. Raji is from Oyo State, just like Ariwoola.
Also in contention for the position is Lagos indigene, Babatunde John Kwame Ogala, SAN, a former Legal Adviser to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Head of Legal of the Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation.
Sources told THEWILL that Ogala is very close to the President, acting as his legal adviser and handling legal matters for him. “Don’t rule him out completely until the announcement is made. Tinubu has been very coy with information on his ministers,” one of our sources said.
Also being linked to the position, though a very long shot, is the former Minister of State for Labour and Employment as well as spokesperson of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation, Festus Keyamo (SAN).
In April 2018, Keyamo was appointed as the Director of Strategic Communications of the 2019 re-election bid of President Muhammadu Buhari, an assignment which he successfully carried out leading to Buhari’s victory at the poll. The then-president subsequently rewarded him with a ministerial portfolio.
For his own election, President Tinubu tapped him as the spokesperson of his campaign, where he did a yeoman’s job, successfully defending then-candidate Tinubu over a barrage of damaging claims, including narcotics trafficking and money laundering. Till date, Keyamo still doggedly defends the President and the APC mostly via his Twitter handle.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
