Tinubu Set to Reshuffle Cabinet Based on Ministerial Performance
President Bola Tinubu is planning to make changes to his cabinet soon, according to statements from the presidency on Wednesday. These changes will be based on how well the ministers have performed, using reports that the President has received in recent months.
This information came from Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, and Mr. O’Tega Ogra, the Senior Special Assistant on Digital/New Media, during a briefing at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Onanuga mentioned that while there’s no set date for the reshuffle, the President is determined to do it.
Ogra added that the decision will be guided by performance reports, particularly those presented by Hadiza Bala-Usman, the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, who also leads the Central Delivery Coordination Unit. The reshuffle will follow reviews of ministerial performance, which the President had previously mentioned during a retreat for the ministers.
The Tinubu administration has faced increasing pressure to remove ministers who are not performing well, both from his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and from outside sources. It’s rumored that as part of the reshuffle, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation might be dissolved, with some ministerial positions merged and others split. Certain ministers could also lose their jobs.
Although the President had warned about underperformance around 10 months ago, most of the cabinet members have remained in their positions, except for Dr. Betta Edu, who was suspended from her role as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Last November, after a retreat for cabinet members, Tinubu set up a Central Delivery Coordination Unit to measure the performance of government officials. The President made it clear that those who perform well have nothing to worry about, but those who don’t meet their goals could be removed. This approach contrasts with the previous administration under President Muhammadu Buhari, where most appointees remained in their positions for eight years with only a few exceptions.