He said any act of corruption “would be visited with the strictest sanction in line with this administration's total abhorrence of corruption in all ramifications and adherence to rules and regulations governing government business,” according to the Nigeria Daily Trust Newspaper.

President Yar’Adua who succeeded former president Olusegun Obasanjo came to power last year in a presidential election which many political pundits still question its free and fairness. The President has since made the fight against corruption one of his administration priorities.

He recently appealed for the repealing of Immunity for Corrupt politicians. Yar’Adua appealed to the new ministers to see their appointment as a call to national duty and urge them to discharge their duty by the highest standard and with the fear of God.

Ya’Adua said the swearing of the new ministers marks the new beginning of a new era which demands pro-action, establishes definitive performance and effective service delivery to meet his Seven-Point Agenda “While congratulating you all, I would like to admonish that you see your appointment at all times as a sacred call to national service and not an opportunity for self aggrandizement or the pursuit of narrow, selfish interests.”

He said: “The task of nation building and national transformation calls for honesty of purpose, sincerity, consummate diligence, and unmediated commitment to the national cause. The people of this nation demand no less from each and every one of us. Our every act must be guided by the highest standards of integrity and the fear of God."

“In this period of stark economic realities at home and unprecedented global economic challenges, we all must begin to think out of the box, recommit to the ideal of prudent and judicious application of resources, and stay faithful to the principles of value for money, transparency, accountability, and the rule of law,” he added.

Ministers

The appointment of the new ministers came nearly 2 months after the president sacked half of his cabinet for ‘failing to perform’. The Newly appointed ministers includes Former Kebbi State governor Alhaji Mohamed Adamu Ailero who is now the new minister of Federal Capital Territory, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman became the new Minister of Petroleum whiles Professor Babatunde Oshotimehin, until recently the high-profile Chairman of the National Action Committee Against HIV/AIDS, was assigned the Health Ministry.

Dora Akunyili now holds the Information and Communications portfolio, ,Dr. Shettima Mustapha, a renowned agriculture expert, was assigned the Defence Ministry, while Finance Minister Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, the custodian of the Yar'adua regime's economic policy in the past 18 months, was redeployed to the National Planning Ministry.

Apart from the newly appointed ministers many of the surviving old ministers were redeployed, including former Labour Minister and acting Health Minister Dr. Hassan Mohamed Lawal, now Minister of Works and Housing. Prince Adetokunbo Kayode was moved from Culture and Tourism Ministry to Labour and Productivity, while the former Minister of Transportation, Diezani Allison Madueke was moved to the Ministry of Mines and Steel.