Firdhiye names new 21-member cabinet for Northeastern Regional State

Breaking: Firdhiye names 21-member Cabinet in Las Anod, signaling next phase for Somalia’s northeastern administration

Las Anod, Somalia — Abdikadir Ahmed Ali, widely known as Firdhiye, has appointed a 21-member Cabinet for the northeastern regional administration centered in Las Anod, according to a decree issued Sunday by his office. The move, months in the making, formalizes a leadership team for the territory that emerged from last year’s fighting and has since sought a stable path under the banner of SSC-Khatumo.

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The Cabinet includes one woman and features several figures with experience in Puntland State’s government—former members of parliament and ex-ministers—suggesting an emphasis on technocratic skills and regional know-how. In a nod to continuity, Firdhiye kept several ministers from the previous SSC-Khatumo administration in place. His office said the selections aim “to establish a unified government that reflects the aspirations and needs of the community.”

Deputy and state ministers have yet to be named; the presidency said those posts will be announced in the coming days. Most of the newly appointed ministers are already in Las Anod and are expected to be sworn in on Monday, officials said.

Behind-the-scenes bargaining resolved

Two officials close to the administration said Firdhiye and his deputy, Abwaan Abdirashid, initially disagreed over the distribution of portfolios—a common friction point in Somali politics where alliances are delicate and clan balances must be navigated carefully. The dispute was later resolved amicably, the officials said. Such bargaining often determines how inclusive and durable a cabinet will be in the early months of governing.

A city still rebuilding, a region still redefining itself

Las Anod, a strategic city in Somalia’s Sool region, was the epicenter of fierce clashes in 2023, when local forces aligned under the SSC-Khatumo banner pushed out North Western State of Somalia troops. The fighting displaced hundreds of thousands and left families scattered across the dry interior and border towns, according to aid groups. While the frontline has quieted, many of those who fled have not returned, and services—from water and health to schools—are stretched thin.

Sunday’s appointments are not just about filling chairs in a cabinet room. They represent a high-stakes bet that a functioning civilian administration can take root where conflict, drought, and political limbo have overlapped. For residents, the question is simple: Will this government deliver security and services before fatigue and disillusion deepen?

Signals in the selections

Firdhiye’s decision to keep several SSC-Khatumo veterans alongside ex-Puntland State officials sends two clear signals. First, continuity—the idea that the core team who held things together during a volatile transition will stay on. Second, a pragmatic dip into Puntland State’s talent pool, drawing on experienced administrators who know how to move budgets, tenders, and security coordination through real-world bottlenecks.

There is also a telling gap: only one woman made the list. Somalia’s national debates often revolve around a 30 percent target for women’s representation in political bodies, a benchmark that has been difficult to meet. For women in Las Anod—who ran food lines, arranged transport for families under fire, and kept businesses and remittances flowing during the conflict—this Cabinet may feel too familiar in its gender imbalance.

Why it matters beyond Las Anod

The Cabinet formation arrives as Somalia’s federal map is still in flux. SSC-Khatumo’s status has been a point of intense discussion in Mogadishu and across the region, touching on long-running political and territorial disagreements between North Western State of Somalia and Puntland State and the broader question of how federalism is to be implemented in a country where local identities are strong and scars from past wars are fresh.

Any cabinet in Las Anod will be judged not only by residents but by neighboring administrations and donors watching for stability, budget discipline, and credible plans for police, courts, roads, and schools. The international community—busy with crises from Port Sudan to Gaza and Ukraine—has limited bandwidth, but stabilization successes in overlooked corners of Somalia can still unlock targeted support. Diaspora remittances, often the backbone of household income in the region, will continue to bridge gaps as the government finds its feet.

What to watch in the coming days

  • The swearing-in: A smooth ceremony on Monday would underscore unity and signal that behind-the-scenes wrangling is settled, at least for now.
  • Deputy and state ministers: These appointments will show how Firdhiye balances political inclusion with competence—and how he manages expectations among key constituencies.
  • Security and justice portfolios: Who leads interior, security, and justice will tell residents how the administration plans to tackle lingering insecurity, property disputes, and reconciliation.
  • Revenue and services: Practical questions loom—how will the government fund operations? Will it secure customs revenues, manage payrolls, and restore the municipal services that make daily life possible?
  • Relations with neighbors: Watch for signals toward Garowe and Hargeisa, and for coordination with federal institutions in Mogadishu on aid, security, and recognition issues.

On the ground, cautious hope

In Las Anod’s markets, merchants talk less about politics and more about price swings in sugar and cement, a reminder that livelihoods—more than lofty rhetoric—will judge this new Cabinet. A shopkeeper near the central roundabout recalled how, during the worst days of shelling, “you could tell the hour by the sound of blasts.” Today, she said, “I want to tell time by the rush of customers, not sirens.”

Firdhiye’s team now faces the unglamorous work of government: auditing damaged infrastructure, tracking displaced families, and laying out clear two- and six-month targets that residents can see and touch—repaired wells, reopened clinics, functioning schools, and a police presence that reassures rather than intimidates.

There is a broader lesson here for Somalia as a whole. Cabinets are easy to announce; harder to embed. In a country of formidable resilience, the measure of leadership is whether a government can translate consensus into clinics, taxes into teachers, and law into fairness. Las Anod has seen enough of war to know the difference between motion and progress.

The headline today is that the names are out. The story to follow is whether those names can stitch together a city and a region tired of improvising through crisis—and ready for something more durable.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.

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