PhDs, Masters – Educational Qualifications Of Tinubu’s Ministerial Nominees (FULL LIST)

PhDs, Masters – Educational Qualifications Of Tinubu’s Ministerial Nominees (FULL LIST)

On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu submitted a list of 28 ministerial nominees to the national assembly for screening, fulfilling the requirement within the 60-day deadline set by a recent constitutional amendment.

The nominees were chosen from 25 states of the federation, excluding 11 states. A thorough analysis revealed that the minimum educational qualification among the nominees is a bachelor’s degree, while the highest qualification is a doctorate degree. Two of the nominees with doctorate degrees have also attained the position of professors.

Among the appointees, 16 hold a master’s degree as their highest educational qualification, nine have bachelor’s degrees, and three have doctorate degrees.

Read Also BREAKING: Tinubu Makes New Appointments (FULL LIST)

According to Section 147(5) of the constitution, no person can be appointed as a minister unless they are qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives. Section 65 (1) (a) of the constitution outlines the qualification for House of Representatives election, which requires a candidate to have at least a school certificate level of education or its equivalent.

While all the nominees meet the minimum qualifications as per the constitution, some lawmakers had previously expressed concerns about the low educational requirement. In January 2022, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, proposed amending the constitution to raise the educational qualification for election into the National Assembly to at least a “university degree level or its equivalent.” The House of Representatives initiated the process of increasing the minimum educational qualification for election as a governor, state, and federal lawmaker to a university degree level in February 2022.

The oldest ministerial nominee in the record is Wale Edun, aged 67, while the youngest nominee is Betta Edu, 31 years younger than Edun. Supporters argue that this suggests a generational mix, but critics disagree, arguing that there could be a significant disparity in ideas.

It’s worth noting that the youngest minister in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet in 2019 was 44 years old, while the oldest was President Buhari himself, who was 76 and held the portfolio as the Minister of Petroleum.

Below is a list of the academic qualifications of the ministerial nominees:

Credit: The Cable