Acting President assigns portfolios to new ministers

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has finally assigned portfolios to ministers

Ochen‎i will be the new Minister of State for Labour and Employment while Hassan has been appointed as Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing.

Hassan was expected to take the place of Amina Mohammed who resigned as Minister of Environment to take up the job of Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

However, his new appointment makes him the second Minister of State in the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing alongside Mustapha Baba Shauri, while the spot for the Minister of Environment remains vacant.

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Ocheni and Hassan were sworn in by Osinbajo on Wednesday, July 26, months after they were confirmed by the Senate as far back as May 3. The presidency's reluctance to promptly inaugurate them fueled talks of a cabinet reshuffle for when President Muhammadu Buhari returned to the country.

The president left the country on May 7 to resume treatment for an undisclosed illness in London, leaving Osinbajo in charge of the country's affairs.

He has said he is completely healthy and is only waiting for a clean bill of health from his doctors, but there has been no confirmed date for his return.