Buhari Pursues Cabinet to Boost Economy, Battle Boko Haram

Muhammadu Buhari’s election victory over an incumbent president was unprecedented in Nigerian history. Now for the difficult part: tackling an economy reeling from a plunge in oil prices and Islamist militant attacks in the north.
Buhari, 72, will probably tap some of the key strategists of his election victory, such as the outgoing governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Fashola, and Rivers state Governor Rotimi Amaechi, as well as senior officials in his All Progressives Congress party such as Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, said Laura Barber, intelligence analyst at AKE Group in London.
“Appointments at the oil and finance ministries in particular will be looked to for a sign of confidence in the new government,” Razia Khan, head of Africa macroeconomic research at Standard Chartered Plc in London, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “The appointment of any technocrats, with a proven track-record of delivery, will be especially welcomed by investors.”
The challenges Buhari will inherit when he’s inaugurated on May 29 are immense. The price of oil, the nation’s main export, has fallen 50 percent since June, the naira is down 17 percent against the dollar in the past six months, and the International Monetary Fund estimates economic growth will slow this year to 4.8 percent this year from 6.1 percent in 2014. In the north, the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has waged a six-year insurgency that the government says has killed more than 13,000 people.