It appears Nigerians are not impressed by President Bola Tinubu’s reshuffle of his cabinet on Wednesday. The overarching belief is that underperforming ministers were spared.
Yesterday, the Federal Government announced a shake-up in President Tinubu’s cabinet, which saw the sacking of five Ministers, the re-assigning of 10 ministers to new ministerial portfolios, and the appointment of seven new ministers for Senate confirmation.
The sacked Ministers include Uju-Ken Ohanenye as Minister of Women’s Affairs; Lola Ade-John as Minister of Tourism; Tahir Mamman as Minister of Education; Abdullahi Gwarzo as Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development; and Jamila Ibrahim as Minister of Youth Development.
Among the nominated Ministers was Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu as the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, while Nentawe Yilwatda as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, officially ending the tenure of suspended Betta Edu.
The President also nominated Maigari Dingyadi as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Jumoke Oduwole as the Minister of Industry, Idi Maiha as the Minister for the newly created Livestock Development Ministry, Yusuf Ata as the Minister of State, Housing, and Urban Development, and Suwaiba Ahmad as the Minister of State Education.
The FEC had also scrapped the Ministry of Niger Delta Development and announced the Ministry of Regional Development as a replacement to oversee the activities of all the regional development commissions.
He also scrapped the Ministry of Sports Development, transferring its functions to the National Sports Commission. The Federal Ministry of Tourism and the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture were merged to become the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
Reacting to the development, the Executive Director of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, noted that Tinubu’s initial cabinet selection did not consider merit but focused more on compensating political allies.
According to him, the selection pattern implied incompetence, corruption, and the absence of the necessary governance expertise.
“Tinubu’s initial cabinet selection prioritized political patronage over competence, leading to a composition of primarily old allies and surrogates, such as Wike, whose controversial actions during the elections have raised concerns.
“The resultant cabinet reflects incompetence and corruption, lacking the necessary governance expertise,” he said.
Nwanguma further said the cabinet reshuffling did not reflect the expectations of Nigerians, regretting that those who had brought a bad name to the Tinubu administration were yet to be shown the exit door.
He insisted that considering the very unfortunate situation the country has found itself in, the president ought to have taken the bull by its horns, to redeem his image and salvage the economic and socio-political future of the nation.
He said; “In the recent reshuffle, expectations were for the dismissal of underperforming ministers, yet many were merely reassigned, failing to address the core issue of inadequate performance.
“Nigeria urgently requires a cabinet of skilled, patriotic technocrats who understand the complexities of the nation’s challenges and are dedicated to effective governance.
“To foster real progress, Tinubu must prioritize qualifications over party affiliations, ensuring that the administration is equipped to tackle Nigeria’s pressing issues with urgency and efficacy.”