President Bola Tinubu sacked five of his ministers on Wednesday, months amid mounting requests for him to reorganise his cabinet. Additionally, he selected seven new ministers for Senate confirmation and reassigned ten ministers to new ministerial posts. Three months after taking office, Tinubu, the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), named 48 ministers in August 2023. The ministers were promptly vetted and confirmed by the Senate. In January, Simon Lalong, one of the ministers, transferred to the Senate, while Betta Edu, another, was suspended.
Many Nigerians are dissatisfied with the performance of some of the ministers, particularly in light of the country’s severe economic conditions, increased insecurity, and unprecedented inflation. As a result, there have been increasing calls for the president to reorganise his cabinet. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga stated in September that the president would reorganise his cabinet, but he did not specify when this would happen. The President fired Uju-Ken Ohanenye as Women Affairs Minister, Lola Ade-John as Tourism Minister, Tahir Mamman as Education Minister, Abdullahi Gwarzo as State, Housing and Urban Development Minister, and Jamila Ibrahim as Youth Development Minister during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday.
The tenure of suspended Betta Edu was formally terminated when Tinubu appointed Nentawe Yilwatda as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu as the Minister of State Foreign Affairs. In addition, the President proposed Yusuf Ata as the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, Suwaiba Ahmad as the Minister of State Education, Maigari Dingyadi as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Jumoke Oduwole as the Minister of Industry, and Idi Maiha as the Minister for the recently established Livestock Development Ministry.
Scrapped Ministries
The President declared earlier Wednesday that the Ministry of Niger Delta Development would be replaced by the Ministry of Regional Development, which would be responsible for supervising the operations of all regional development commissions. The Niger Delta Development Commission, South East Development Commission, North East Development Commission, and North West Development Commission are the regional development commissions that will fall under the purview of the new ministry.
In an effort to “develop a vibrant sports economy,” Tinubu also abolished the Ministry of Sports Development and gave the National Sports Commission its duties. The merger of the Federal Ministries of Arts and Culture and Tourism into the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy was also approved by the President. Former Minister Dare In Sunday Dare, the former Minister of Sports under Muhammadu Buhari, was given a new position in the cabinet reshuffle. Shehu Dikko’s appointment as the National Sports Commission’s chairman. “The appointment of Sunday Akin Dare as Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication and Orientation working from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation,” said the president.
The President wished the departing members of the Federal Executive Council luck in their future efforts and expressed gratitude for their contribution to the country. He then urged both the recently appointed ministers and their colleagues who had been reassigned to view their position as a call to serve the country. He went on to say that all appointees must comprehend the administration’s excitement and resolve to put Nigeria on a course for irreversible growth and put their all into making the government’s priorities a reality.