Barely two weeks after he assumed office, former senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani has expressed satisfaction with the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu so far.

The non-serving senator said the president has started on a good footing and has demonstrated civility especially in giving listening ears to people.

Sani stated this when he appeared on the Channels Television programme “Politics Today” yesterday.

According to him, given critical observation and consultations with individuals and groups, he was satisfied with the administration for now.

Going ahead, he however said that the president must arrest insecurity and growing violent attacks while handling the fragile economic situation of the country.

To address these, Sani said Tinubu should seek wise counsel in appointing leaders of security agencies and constitute a knowledgeable economic team.

He said, “First of all, I can see that he has started on a good footing in the sense that he has proven to be a president first of all as a civil servant and also gives a listening ear to people. From what we can see from distance and consulting individuals and groups, I think he has started right, I am satisfied with the level of consultation for now.”

He said what the President has to do is to get people that are competent and capable, to man the position of authority as he pilots the ship of state to the future. “ He also needs to set an immediate priority of what he needs to address and as far as Nigeria is concerned, first is security and the second is economy, these two are very important,” he added

The thirty-six-year-old youngest member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Sabur Oluwa, has promised his Constituents of effective representation.

Oluwa, who is representing the Ajeromi-Ifelodun constituency II at the Assembly, was among the 40 lawmakers inaugurated at the 10th Lagos Assembly on Tuesday.

The lawmakers took the Oath of Office after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu proclaimed the 10th Assembly on Tuesday.

Oluwa reiterated his commitment to quality representation that would bring speedy development to the constituency and also promote peace and harmony among constituents.

He said; “By the grace of God, the mandate given to me by my constituents in Ajeromi-Ifelodun constituency II will not be betrayed. The confidence they have in me will be justified. The love of my constituents for me, through their votes in the election that brought me in, will be reciprocated.

“The peculiarities of our constituency, being one of the most populous and ethnically diverse in Nigeria, set us apart. We will leverage these to attract the requisite attention and development to Ajegunle.”

“I will ensure effective and sound representation at the House of Assembly, Lagos, to positively impact the lives of Ajegunle people,” the 36 years old lawmaker said.

Oluwa is the youngest lawmaker in the 10th Assembly.

The choice of the Nigerian President is as critical for the country as the appointments into key offices are to a new government. Two of the key offices that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must appoint the right persons into, based on the current realities of Nigeria, and if his administration must succeed, are the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

With regard to the NSA, the country has for too long ‘zoned’ the position to retired army Generals. Conventional wisdom would suggest that this is probably the direction to look. But, alas, this very traditional approach has not served the country well. Despite the military background of the NSAs, insecurity in the country has assumed multiple dimensions rather than generally abating.

It may not necessarily be that the retired Generals that have been so appointed were all incompetent. It is, rather, very likely that a sense of entitlement may be running deep in that ‘constituency’. This inevitably compromises performance. An ‘inside view’ of the security problems of the country by the retired Generals could also be limiting. But in several domains of decision-making, having an ‘outside view’ – also called the reference class approach – has worked better. For the new NSA, understanding the nation’s internal security challenges in the context of our social, economic, and cultural challenges are necessary.

This is why President Tinubu has to try a different option. In this regard, it is interesting that Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, a former senior police officer and pioneer Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been speculated as the choice of Mr. President for the NSA. His alternative credentials are quite strong for the role.

With regard to appointing the CBN governor, a paradigm shift is necessary. The apex bank has not only spectacularly failed to deliver on its core mandates of monetary and price stability as well as issuance of legal tender currency, but it has also terribly malfunctioned. This has had serious and wide-ranging repercussions for the economy – including dwindled foreign investment inflows to the country. To reverse the apathy of foreign investors towards Nigeria, like the President said he would do in his inaugural speech, certain tendencies must be avoided. Appointing a political loyalist to the position can badly backfire – both for the administration and the economy.

The second tendency to avoid is to appoint a regulated entity as a regulator of the industry where he or she would have developed entrenched interests. Therefore, the last two substantive CBN governors were appointed from their positions as bank CEOs. This is very risky. The likelihood of such a CBN governor to pursue vendettas against his or her previous competitors in the industry is considerable. So is conflict of interest, and the possibility of his or her continuing to be transactional in their new position.

The President should guard against these dangerous inclinations in appointing the next CBN governor. The right candidate is one that can command respect of various market participants and wider stakeholders, including the generality of Nigerians. This requires that such a candidate is locally- and internationally-recognised, has high intellectual capacity necessary for public policymaking. A professional profile with a strong combination of senior-level experience in international organisations, academia, and central banking makes such a CV very compelling.

What best serves the interest of President Tinubu is a CBN governor that can lead the central bank to clear success with regard to its core mandates. Although the CBN is statutorily independent, the President that appointed a performing governor of the bank would naturally share in the credit for the stellar performance. Also, a competent monetary authority would indirectly contribute to good fiscal policy performance