At last, the hen has finally come home to roost as President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, released 16 more ministerial nominees in addition to the 21 earlier released last week, thus putting to rest, the controversies surrounding the perceived belated process.

However unlike the initial list which appeared to have been leaked to the public before they were unveiled last week, the President shocked many would-be Nostradamus especially in the social media as many of the names being paraded were conspicuously absent from the list.

Among the new list include a member of House of Representatives from Yobe State, Kadija Bukar Ibrahim, a former Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and ex-Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress APC, James Ocholi and the immediate Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan Prof Isaac Adewole.

Others are Thaddeus Omoleye Daramola, Anthony Onwuka, Jeffery Onyema, Muhammadu Bello, Mustapha Baba Sheturi, Aisha Abubakar, Adamu Adamu, Pascal Husseini and Abubakar Bawa.

The 16 new batch of ministerial nominees would now join their colleagues for screening or confirmation by the senate, a process which begun last Tuesday. Meanwhile the senate on Wednesday, confirmed 18 ministerial nominees after a two-day screening among whom are; Babatunde Fashola, Lagos and Kayode Fayemi Ekiti.

Other ministers designate include; Senator Udo Udoma Akwa Ibom, Chief Audu Ogbeh Benue, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu Ebonyi, Dr Osagie Ehanire Edo, Alhaji Lai Mohammed Kwara, Lt Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau Kano, Amina Ibrahim Mohammed Gombe, Mr Sulaiman Hussein Adamu, Mr Ibrahim Usman Jibrin, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachukwu, Mr Abubakar Malami, Senator Chris Ngige, Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan, Mr Solomon Dalong, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and Senator Hadi Sirika.

The ongoing ministerial screening has so far, failed to live to the expectations of many doomsday sayers, who had predicted a stormy session as a result of the unfolding political crisis which had pitched the senate President with President Buhari.

Many had thought that the political cracks within the structure of the National Assembly that reared their ugly heads at the inception of the Buhari's administration would be more aggravated during the screening process coming at a time when the National leader of APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, in a press statement, practically took the senate President to the cleaners in what may have set the stage for an epic battle for the supporters of the two political camps.

But in what appears a comic melodrama, many of Buhari’s nominees had a smooth sail, passing through the eagle eyes of the 109 members of the nation's upper legislative chamber in an exercise that was both colourful and exciting. Indeed, the expected battle never occurred as it was gathered that the loose ends may have been tied during the period of intense lobbying and horse-trading, believed to have preceded the screening proper.

The exercise also raised the pertinent question of thoroughness as some of the nominees were hardly grilled as expected, against the background of the earlier threat by the chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Dino Melaye who insisted that it is not going to be 'business as usual' for former members of the National Assembly who had been used to 'bow and go'.

Instead, many Nigerians who watched the event live on national TV stations were unanimous at giving Buhari a pass mark going by the excellent performance of the nominees so far screened.

Jimi Disu, a public affairs commentator and ace journalist, on Thursday, scored Buhari high for presenting what he called 'a star studded team of thinking men' to help the President in the next four years.

As all seems to be set for the eventual take-off of the administration with the coming on board of Buhari’s men, not a few watchers of events in the polity have changed the topic of recent debate from whether the four- month waiting game was worth it or the list of ministerial nominees paraded by the President are the country's best eleven at this time.

peaking to Saturday Mirror in an exclusive interview, All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA governorship candidate in the 2015 governorship election in Ogun State, Prof David Bamgbose, took a swipe at the government for not preparing to take over government in the first instance.

According to him, "One of their excuses was that, there was no handover prior to the handover date. But, a government or somebody who is interested in forming a government must go for information because, without information, there is no planning. There is no projection and vision. They shouldn't have waited for the outgoing government before they put in place their machinery to get those information and prepare very well.

"Having said that,- the post election period, six months after inauguration. Some people talk about four months after inauguration but it is 6 months post election. When I look at the list of the people that was released by Mr President, my take is that the list can be released even on the day of the swearing in of the president.

He also questioned the cabinet list saying it was dominated by politicians.

"In the history of this country, the set of the ministers that are being screened by the senate are the most political. I am not talking of this democratic dispensation, but in the history of this nation" he said

Continuing, the educationist said; "You have 5 to 6 ex-governors, senators and House of Reps, about six, you have gubernatorial aspirants or candidates, six or eight. So in all of this, the list is the most political. "So looking at the list, political consideration is the major factor for the people that are put up by Mr President for ministerial nominees.

Aside from the composition of the cabinet list, one other issue is the belief from several quarters that most of the names on the list are made up of 'analogue' people or spent forces, 'who have little or nothing to contribute'.

This criticism is further buoyed by the allegation that Buhari at 72, appears to be comfortable working with old people as many opined that there is nothing in the list to suggest that the much awaited change under the current democratic dispensation has come.

From Buhari's earlier appointments, it was obvious that the President had his eyes on those people he knew when he was in power over thirty years ago most of whom are now in their 70s and their early 80s now.

Majority of Nigerians had expected a list that will feature names of renowned technocrats and professionals who have distinguished themselves in various fields of endeavours many of whom are scattered all over the country.

But the dominance of Buhari's list is viewed from the stand point of recapitulating to the dictates of the political party through which he emerged President last March. Bamgbose in a related development said, the number of technocrats among the list was relatively few.

His words; 'Most of the ministerial nominees are within the range of 45 to 60 and above, a lot of retired individuals. 'If you look at the number of the nominees who are technocrats, they are less than 10 per cent.

The politician also queried the alleged corruption charges leveled against some of the nominees; "Then again is the allegation of financial misappropriation against some of the nominees. Although, I don't hold brief for anyone since nobody has been tried by a competent court of law, but I feel the President who is elected on the high moral ground of integrity should have asked them to submit themselves to the judicial process instead of including them in the list.

In an interview with a television station at the lobby of the National Assembly on Tuesday, Francis Alimikhena, the 8th National Assembly Senate Minority Leader and senator representing Edo North said; "There is no doubt that the list contains the names of those who are well known in the country, but how does that guarantee their competence to make things work?

"Some of them have been in the corridors of power for so long that they may have become spent bullets, the law of diminishing returns may have also caught up with them".

However elder statesman and former Nigeria's Permanent Representatives to the United Nations, Alhaji Maitama Sule has urged the President to work with the nation' elders to achieve the needed change in his government;

He gave the advice in Abuja at the inaugural ceremony and the International Conference of the African Society for the Ageing.

He added that Buhari should not abandon the aged, but adopt the mixture of the young and the aged in the formation of his cabinet to produce the country's better future leaders According to him 'Every society needs old people because new breed without the old breed will breed greed.

''We also need the youthful exuberant of the young, you need the experience of the old which you cannot buy in the market" From all indications, the events of the coming weeks will go a long way to justify Buhari's choice after all.