He promised to give him a tougher job than being Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP. Yesterday President  Goodluck Jonathan appointed the immediate past chairman of the  PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the Chairman of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) in  a move seen by political pundits as both strategic and a soft landing for the embattled politician.

Going to the Railways was a last minute decision as Tukur was originally penned down to clinch the Minister of Defence. Associates of Tukur said the former PDP chairman was cool with the new post.

Meanwhile, the President has dispatched 12 ministerial nominees to the Senate for confirmation> Jonathan has forwarded the names of ministerial nominees to the Nigerian Senate for confirmation.

Senate President David Mark read the names of the nominees on the floor of the senate as the National Assembly resumed its plenary session for the year 2014. The nominees are: Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Hon Mohammed Wakil (Borno),  Alhaji  Abduljelili Oyewale Adesiyan (Osun),  Ambassador Aminu Wali (Kano), Hadjia Jamilia Salik (Kano),  Mrs Akon Etim Eyakenyi  (Akwa Ibom),  Lawrencia Labaran Mallam (Kaduna), Dr T. W. Danagogo  (Rivers), Asabe Asmau Ahmed  (Niger),  General Aliu Gusau Mohammed ,rtd, ( Zamfara),  Mr. Boni Haruna ( Adamawa).

The nomination of Gusau, a seasoned security chief is seen as a masterstroke in the ongoing fight against terror. Gusau, a Presidency source told our reporter, would head the Defence Ministry where he is expected to use his wealth of experience to coordinate the various security apparatchik in the fight against terror.

Beyond the choice of Gusau, the president was said to have considered the electoral relevance of the nominees in his quest to clinch power in the 2015 polls. “By this appointment, the president has widened his reach and electoral fortunes in the run up to 2015 election. The new ministerial nominees would lead electoral campaign in their various domains going forward”, the source said.