Tinubu Set For Major Cabinet Shakeup, Moves To Sack Ministers

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is planning a major cabinet reshuffle that will include appointing new ministers and establishing a new ministry, as reported by Daily Trust.

The new ministry will focus on livestock development, a department previously under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. This initiative aims to advance the administration’s livestock master plan. The Nigeria Livestock Master Plan, launched last August, guides the development of the livestock sector, which contributes about one-third of the agricultural sector’s 21% share of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

A source indicated that the new ministry would address the persistent farmer-herder clashes that have severely impacted the country’s food security and resulted in significant loss of life and property.

Another source revealed that President Tinubu sees the new ministry as a way to promote ranching, with state governments expected to provide land for federal projects.

Additionally, the cabinet reshuffle will involve appointing state ministers for most or all ministries that currently have only one minister. Some Nigerians previously criticized the president for maintaining what they deemed an “overbloated cabinet.” However, President Tinubu defended the size of his cabinet, which initially comprised 48 members, including the suspended Betta Edu and Simon Lalong, who resigned to join the Senate.

“If you combine too many ministries to save money, you will end up with non-performance and no results,” the president argued.

The reshuffle will also see appointments for ministries currently without a minister of state, such as Labour and Employment, and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, where Minister Betta Edu has been suspended since January 8.

Ministries without ministers of state include arts, culture and creative economy; foreign affairs; special duties and inter-governmental affairs; communications, innovation and digital economy; finance; marine and blue economy; solid minerals development; tourism; transportation; industry, trade and investment; innovation, science and technology; works; sports development; and women affairs. Others are aviation and aerospace development; power; budget and economic planning; information and national orientation; justice; and Niger delta affairs.

The president is expected to base his decisions on the assessment report of the ministers’ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by his Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman. However, political considerations may influence his decisions.

Ms. Hadiza could not be reached for comment on the status of her assessment, but she previously stated in April that the citizens’ delivery tracker launched by the federal government would use empirical data to evaluate ministerial performance. The tracker is one of several tools used to assess the KPIs of the ministers.

A source also revealed that some ministers of state are slated for promotion and that certain ministers will be dropped. “A former governor is among those to be dropped in the cabinet shake-up. There is also a minister of state marked for promotion,” the source said.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, commented, “I don’t know about any cabinet reshuffling. What I know is that the president is preparing to address the nation for the Democracy Day celebration, and on Thursday he will leave for Lagos to celebrate Sallah.”