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The number of women in the federal cabinet will
increase by two today as Goodluck Jonathan swears in two females and a
man as the final members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Salamatu Hussaini Suleiman, a lawyer from Kebbi
State; Yabawa Lawan Wabi, an accountant from Borno State and Kenneth
Gbagi, a lawyer from Delta State, are the three ministers that will
round up the cabinet. The trio were confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday
after they passed through a minor screening in a plenary at the
National Assembly. Their confirmation brought the number of current
ministers serving in the government to 42, the maximum allowable by the
constitution.

Both Mrs Suleiman and Mrs Wabi are from the All
Nigeria People’s Party. Presidential aides confirmed they will be
administered with their oaths of office during the weekly Federal
Executive Council meeting which holds on Wednesdays.

BRIEF BIOS

Mrs Suleiman

A former minister of women affairs in the Yar’Adua
administration and a law graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, she
attended the London School of Economics and Political Science where she
gained a master’s degree in law. Her first job as a lawyer was with the
Ministry of Justice in the old Sokoto State. She then worked at
Continental Merchant Bank, Lagos, for seven years and worked for a
short time at NAL Merchant Bank before moving to Aluminum Smelter
Company, where she was company secretary/legal adviser. After that, she
worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission before being appointed
minister.

Mr Gbagi

A lawyer and former chairman of the Board of the
Legal Aid Council of Nigeria (LACN), he is a former PDP gubernatorial
candidate in Delta State. He is an outspoken Urhobo leader and
businessman. He is also a founding member of the party, and was
involved in an open feud with James Ibori, the former governor of Delta
State and fugitive from the EFCC.

Mrs Wabi

A graduate of the National Institute of Policy and
Strategic Studies, she was until now a Permanent Secretary at the
Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Maiduguri, Borno
State.</