Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi, the Mr. fix it in president Ruto’s government
The prominent and active role that the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has assumed in president William Ruto’s administration has projected him as president’s preferred go-to person in both domestic and international affairs.
Yesterday afternoon, Mudavadi arrived in Abuja, Nigeria for a three-day official visit to attend the inauguration of president-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu slated for today.
He is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Tinubu as president Ruto’s representative.
Mudavadi’s rising star has dimmed the role of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as the principal assistant to the president and that of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua.
“The Kenyan government pledges to collaborate closely with the incoming administration for a successful and peaceful tenure.” A statement by Mudavadi’s press director Salim Swaleh read in part.
Mudavadi has been representing the president in overseas trips projecting him as his close confidant in government administration.
In December last year, Mudavadi represented president Ruto at the Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit in London, United Kingdom, where he also held talks with Lord Marland of Odstock, chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council.
Early this month, Mudavadi visited Burundi for an official visit to represent Ruto at the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the signatory countries of the framework agreement for peace, security and co-operation for DRC.
Tinubu will be sworn in after winning hotly contested presidential election held on Saturday February 25, 2023 where Tinubu of the incumbent All Peoples Congress (APC) romped home with 8,794,726 votes.
Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) came second with 6,984,520 votes while Peter Obi of the Labour Party was third with 6,101,533 votes.
At 27 per cent, voter turnout was one of the lowest since the end of military rule in 1999.
It was the seventh General Election since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, with 18 contestants running for the presidential office.
While Tinubu’s 8.8 million votes represented about 37% of votes cast, they were less than 10 per cent of the 93 million Nigerians registered to vote.
Tinubu aged 70 years old is a Muslim and briefly served as the senator for Lagos West (1992-93) as well as the governor of Lagos for two terms between 1999 and 2007.
Both Kenya and Nigeria are considered African economic powerhouses patched on the eastern and western parts of the continent respectively.
