President Bola Tinubu has named seven new ministers, reassigned 10 others and sacked five over poor performance as part of efforts to improve service delivery.
The newly appointed ministers include Nentawe Yilwatda, minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Jumoke Oduwole, former special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Ease of Doing Business, now minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
Among those sacked were: Uju-Ken Ohanenye, former minister of Women’s Affairs; Lola Ade-John, former minister of Tourism; Tahir Mamman, former minister of Education; Abdullahi Gwarzo, former minister of state for Housing and Urban Development; and Jamila Ibrahim, former minister of Youth Development.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, disclosed this while briefing State House journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by the president on Wednesday.
He revealed that FEC came up with eight far-reaching actions to reinvigorate the administration’s capacity for optimal efficiency pursuant to the president’s commitment to deliver on his promises to Nigerians.
Another major announcement was the renaming of the Ministry of Nigeria Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development to oversee the activities of all regional development commissions.
The new ministry will supervise the Niger Delta Development Commission, the South East Development Commission, the North East Development and the North West Development Commission.
The FEC also approved the immediate winding up of the Ministry of Sports Development and the transfer of its functions to the National Sports Commission to develop a vibrant sports economy.
The president and the Federal Executive Council also approved the re-assignment of 10 ministers to new ministerial portfolios.
The president also approved the nomination of seven new ministers for onward transmission to the Senate for confirmation and the appointment of Shehu Dikko as chairman of the National Sports Commission.
Sunday Dare, former minister of Youths and Sports under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, was appointed as special adviser to the president on Public Communication and Orientation. He will work from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
Muhammad Goronyo, former minister of state for Water Resources and Sanitation, was appointed minister of state for Works.
Abubakar Momoh, former minister of Niger Delta Development, is now minister of Regional Development.
Doris Uzoka-Anite, former minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, was moved to the Ministry of Finance as minister of state.
John Enoh, former minister of Sports Development, was moved to the Ministry of Trade and Investment as minister of state.
Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, former minister of state, Police Affairs, was moved to the Ministry of Women Affairs as substantive minister.
Ayodele Olawande, minister of state for Youth Development, was appointed the substantive minister for Youth Development.
Onanuga said the president thanked the outgoing members of the FEC for their service to the nation while wishing them the best in their future endeavours.
He then charged the newly appointed ministers as well as their reassigned colleagues to see their appointments as calls to serve the nation.
He added that all appointees must understand the administration’s eagerness and determination to set Nigeria on the path to irreversible growth and invest the best of their abilities into the actualisation of the government’s priorities.
