Major Shake-Up in Nigeria: President Tinubu’s Cabinet Reshuffling
In a move aimed at revamping the country’s economy, President Bola Tinubu recently announced a significant overhaul of his cabinet. This restructuring saw the sacking of five ministers, the reassignment of ten others to new ministerial roles, and the appointment of seven new ministers for Senate confirmation.
The affected ministers were:
• Uju-Ken Ohanenye, Minister of Women Affairs
• Lola Ade-John, Minister of Tourism
• Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education
• Abdullahi Gwarzo, Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development
• Jamila Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development
A key aspect of this restructuring was the alignment with recommendations outlined in the Oronsaye Report. This resulted in the merging of certain ministries, such as Tourism and Arts and Creative Economy, to form the new Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy.
Tinubu also abolished the Ministry of Niger-Delta Development and replaced it with the Ministry of Regional Development, which will oversee the various regional development commissions. This move aims to avoid unnecessary duplication and reduce governance costs.
Additionally, the president ensured that there are no longer two ministers in the ministries of Police Affairs and Youth Development, further streamlining overheads.
While the reshuffling has been commended, many are wondering if it addresses the nation’s pressing issues, including high inflation, depreciating naira, insecurity, and soaring fuel prices.
Now that the reshuffling is complete, the question on everyone’s mind is what President Tinubu will do next to tackle these concerns.
Senator Gbenga Kaka, a former deputy governor of Ogun State, shared his insights in an exclusive interview:
Do you think the cabinet reshuffling was necessary, or should the focus be on Tinubu’s economic policies?
“Both are needed,” he said. “It’s essential to monitor for feedback, review, and control for efficient management of processes. President Tinubu has done that, and I don’t see any reason for concern.”
However, when asked about the possibility of changing his economic policies, Senator Kaka responded:
Can the reshuffling be compared to changing the package of a product while the content remains the same?
“You’re assuming I’m a marketer, so when you have a product, if the brand seems not to be selling, you just have to rebrand. In this case, nothing is affecting the product, the product is getting the job done.”
Despite this assertion, Senator Kaka acknowledges that the economic policies require attention:
But the economic policies are the same, the presidency has said that they stand by their economic reforms and they might not change them anytime soon.
“You’re jumping the gun,” he said. “Economic policy that is not working, whether they like it or not, they just have to change it. The people are dreaming that one day the exchange rate of dollar to naira will come back to normalcy.”
Senator Kaka emphasized that a change in economic policies could be a necessary step towards alleviating the people’s suffering:
So what you are saying, in essence, is that if the economic hardship continues, you believe that Tinubu might give in and make a change.
“I don’t know his mind, I’m only volunteering my own analysis of the situation,” he said. “Whether he changes or not, the most important thing is to get the result.”
