President Bola Tinubu don make big changes for his cabinet on Wednesday, and dis move dey cause mixed reactions from different groups. Tinubu approve the re-assignment of 10 ministers to new portfolios, sack five ministers, and nominate seven new ones for Senate confirmation.
The Presidency reveal details of the reshuffle in a statement titled, “Statement on the restructuring of Ministries and Ministerial Portfolios.” For instance, the Ministry of Niger Delta Development now dey called the Ministry of Regional Development, while the Ministry of Sports Development don dey scrapped. The Ministries of Tourism and Arts and Culture now merge to become the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
The Organised Private Sector (OPS) dey support Tinubu’s decision, saying it based on empirical evidence. According to Ogra, “The President’s decision to reshuffle his cabinet is based on empirical evidence. He had said so when speaking at the retreat for the ministers that they would have periodic reviews and the decisions extracted from these reviews will be used to make that final decision.”
However, opposition parties and some civil society organisations no agree with the move. Dem say it be distraction to cover the administration’s incompetence. The Deputy National Youth Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, Timothy Osadolor, describe the move as a domestic arrangement deployed to distract the hungry masses.
Nigerians also express their views on social media, demanding further cabinet reshuffling that align with leadership and governance priorities necessary to address the country’s pressing challenges. Some people shock say the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola; and the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, no lose their jobs.
Critics of Matawalle link am to the insecurity in some parts of the country, while that of Adelabu link to the incessant blackouts and electricity tariff hikes. Dr Ikenna Nwosu of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group say, “He (Tinubu) fired underperforming ministers, he reshuffled who was justified, good for Nigeria. I am satisfied, except that the Ministry of Sports should not have been scrapped in favour of a National Sports Commission, as that is against global best practices.”
