UPDATE 3-Nigeria's President Buhari submits list of cabinet nominees to Senate

* Nigeria's Buhari submits 43 names for approval
* Some nominees return from previous cabinet
* Will be new junior oil minister
* Confirmation screening to start on Weds.

(Adds comment on new junior oil minister)
ABUJA, July 23 (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu
Buhari submitted his list of cabinet nominees to the upper house
of parliament, the Senate, on Tuesday, giving lawmakers a chance
to vote on them just days before they leave for a two-month
break.
The submission comes almost two months after Buhari began
his second term, and some five months after he was re-elected, a
delay that caused jitters amongst investors and threatened
growth prospects for Africa's largest economy. Parliament's break is due to begin at the end of the week,
although it could delay this to confirm the nominees.
The list contains 43 names, though it did not specify which
positions they would hold in cabinet.
A number of senior figures from Buhari's first term will
return, including Zainab Ahmed, Babatunde Fashola, Geoffrey
Onyeama, Rotimi Amaechi and Lai Mohammed, who held the finance,
works and power, foreign, transport and information portfolios.
One figure who will not return is Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, a
former junior oil minister who played a key role in building a
tentative peace with militants in the oil-rich Delta.
Buhari himself was oil minister during his first term,
though he took a largely hands-off approach, leaving much of the
ministry's running to Kachikwu.
"In the last administration there were tensions between the
Ministry and NNPC (state oil firm Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation), between key officials, and these tensions were not
always constructive," said Anthony Goldman, head of
Africa-focused PM Consulting.
"A new team offers new opportunities, but the challenges are
significant - well-oiled vested interests have an excellent
track record of delaying, diluting and distorting real change,"
he said.
Returning ministers will not necessarily hold the same
positions if confirmed by the senate. Screening will start on
Wednesday, and then lawmakers will vote to approve each
candidate.
Buhari, a 76-year-old former military leader, faces a long
list of challenges including tepid economic growth, high
unemployment and widespread insecurity.
Buhari took six months to swear in a cabinet after the 2015
election - a delay critics contend contributed to the slow
response to low oil prices that pushed Nigeria into a recession
in 2016.