Nigeria Law

Chapter III · Power

The Federal Cabinet, by Portfolio

A selected catalogue of the principal federal portfolios and their holders. Full per-administration cabinets are continuously being compiled from gazette records.

Selected portfolios

Finance1960 — 65

Festus Okotie-Eboh

First Federal Minister of Finance. Killed in the 15 January 1966 coup.

1st Republic

Finance1999 — 2003

Adamu Ciroma

Returning Minister of Finance under Obasanjo II. Earlier, Minister of Finance 1979–1981 (Shagari).

Obasanjo II

Finance2003 — 06

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Coordinating Minister of the Economy. Architected the 2005 Paris Club exit. Later WTO Director-General, March 2021.

Obasanjo II / Jonathan

Finance2015 — 19

Kemi Adeosun

Resigned 14 September 2018 over the NYSC exemption-certificate controversy.

Buhari I

Finance2023 —

Wale Edun

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. Former CBN board member; founder of Chapel Hill Denham.

Tinubu (sitting)

Justice (AGF)1960 — 65

Dr. Taslim Olawale Elias

First Nigerian Attorney-General. Later Chief Justice of Nigeria (1972–75); President of the International Court of Justice (1982–85).

1st Republic

Justice (AGF)2015 — 23

Abubakar Malami (SAN)

Attorney-General of the Federation for the full eight years of Buhari II. Lead respondent in the £6.6m UK assets-forfeiture case.

Buhari II

Justice (AGF)2023 —

Lateef Fagbemi (SAN)

Attorney-General of the Federation. Counsel of record on multiple landmark Supreme Court matters pre-appointment.

Tinubu (sitting)

Defence1960 — 65

Sir Muhammadu Ribadu

First Federal Minister of Defence. The Ribadu Lines, Lagos, named for him.

1st Republic

Defence2015 — 19

Brig.-Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd)

Minister of Defence; tenure coincided with the height of the Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency.

Buhari I

Foreign Affairs1960 — 65

Jaja Wachuku

First Minister of Foreign Affairs. Architected Nigeria's early continental and Commonwealth policy.

1st Republic

Foreign Affairs1984 — 85

Prof. Ibrahim Gambari

Buhari I Foreign Minister; later UN Under-Secretary-General; later Chief of Staff (2020–23).

Buhari I

Petroleum1971 — 75

Maj.-Gen. Yakubu Gowon (concurrent)

Petroleum portfolio held by the Head of State for most of the post-1971 OPEC accession era — convention continued by subsequent administrations.

Gowon

Petroleum2015 — 23

Muhammadu Buhari (concurrent)

President Buhari held the substantive Petroleum portfolio for both terms — eight years. Minister of State: Ibe Kachikwu (2015–19); Timipre Sylva (2019–23).

Buhari I + II

Education2010 — 15

Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i; Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau; Prof. Allwell Adebayo Aluko

Three Ministers of Education across the Jonathan administration; period of the ASUU strikes of 2013 (5 months) and 2014.

Jonathan

Health1999 — 2003

Prof. ABC Nwosu

Architected the National Health Insurance Scheme, established 1999, operational 2005. Later Senator (Anambra Central).

Obasanjo II

Methodology

Tier 1 · primary

Courts. Gazettes. National archives.

Tier 2 · corroborating

OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.

Redline

Wikipedia is never a source.