Finally, on Wednesday, the President who presided over the Federal Executive Council (FEC), announced the sack of Uju-Ken Ohanenye, Minister of Women Affairs, Lola Ade-John, the Minister of Tourism,Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, Abdullahi Gwarzo, the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development and Jamila Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development.
By Olawale Lamina
Following the growing calls for the cabinet reshuffle of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministers in the face of economic hardship and observation of non-performance on the part of some appointees, the much expected shake off finally took place Wednesday when five appointees were sacked and 10 others were being redeployed, as well as seven fresh nominations made to replace those dropped.
It would be recalled that in August 2023, President Tinubu appointed 48 ministers three months after his inauguration in May 29. The Senate immediately screened and confirmed the ministers. One of the ministers, Betta Edu, was suspended in January while another, Simon Lalong, moved to the Senate.
And, in the face of agitation for cabinet reshuffle in some quarters over the state of the economy and general harsh living conditions attributed to non-performance by some ministers, presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, hinted In September that the President would rejig his cabinet but didn’t give details of when.
Finally, on Wednesday, the President who presided over the Federal Executive Council (FEC), announced the sack of Uju-Ken Ohanenye, Minister of Women Affairs, Lola Ade-John, the Minister of Tourism,Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, Abdullahi Gwarzo, the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development and Jamila Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development. (Photos below)
Tinubu subsequently nominated Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu as the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, while Nentawe Yilwatda as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, officially bringing an end to the tenure of suspended Betta Edu. Others nominated by Tinubu include Maigari Dingyadi as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Jumoke Oduwole as the Minister of Industry, Idi Maiha as Minister for the newly created Livestock Development Ministry, Yusuf Ata as the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, while Suwaiba Ahmad got nominated as the Minister of State Education. ( Photos below )
President Tinubu also re-assigned 10 ministers to new ministerial portfolios with the seven new ministers now awaiting the Senate confirmation. Earlier, Tinubu scrapped two ministries and merged two others. They include 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.
The Ministry of Sports Development now has its functions assigned to the National Sports Commission to “develop a vibrant sports economy,” while approval was granted for the merger of the Federal Ministry of Tourism and the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture to become the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
The President thanked the outgoing members of the FEC for their service to the nation while wishing them the best in their future undertakings, while challenging the newly appointed ministers and those reassigned to appreciate their appointment as a call to serve the nation.
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