Nigeria's Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has picked a raft of new faces including a Goldman Sachs banker for his new cabinet.

Jonathan sacked the his predecessor's cabinet a week ago in a bid to assert his authority a month after assuming executive powers, and the fast appointment of a new team.

Senate President David Mark on Wednesday read out 33 nominees sent by Jonathan for approval, a list which included just nine members of the outgoing cabinet.

Former Minister of State for Petroleum Odein Ajumogobia, tipped as a possible oil minister, and Olusegun Aganga, a London-based executive at Goldman Sachs seen as a contender for a finance ministry post, were among the nominees.

Portfolios will be assigned once the upper house has approved the list, expected before the Easter recess starts next Thursday. The Senate will hold a special session on Monday to consider the list, deputy Senate spokesman Anthony Manzo said.

There are more than 40 ministers in the cabinet and a second list will follow to complete Jonathan's team. But outgoing oil and finance ministers Rilwanu Lukman and Mansur Muhtar, who held two of the top posts in the OPEC member nation of 140 million people, were not among the names read out on Wednesday.

Nominees from the outgoing cabinet include former Information Minister Dora Akunyili, former Justice Minister Adetokunbo Kayode, former National Planning Minister Shamsuddeen Usman and former junior Niger Delta minister Godsday Orubebe.

Among the new nominees are Murtala Yar'Adua, ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua's nephew whose business interests span banking and oil, and Jubril Martins Kuye, junior finance minister under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Banking and oil reforms 

Jonathan took over as acting head of state in early February due to the absence of President Yar'Adua, who was receiving treatment for a heart ailment in a Saudi clinic.

Yar'Adua has since returned but remains too sick to govern.

The reappointment of at least nine ministers in sectors including oil, the Niger Delta and justice suggests Nigeria's broad policy direction is unlikely to change.

A radical shake-up also has risks.

"Too much change at key ministries could slow things down considerably, as new ministers will still need some time to get to grips with things," Khan said.

Reuters