Olusegun Ariyo
An erstwhile Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has said President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet overhaul is not impressive.
Shittu said the cabinet shake-up was more politically motivated than bringing in superior minds as ministers into the Federal Executive Council, FEC.
Shittu stated this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday which was monitored by Urban Express News Online, day after the president sacked five ministers, redeployed 10 ministers and made seven fresh nominations, awaiting Senate confirmation.
“If you look at the changes we had yesterday (Wednesday), I doubt whether it is necessarily bringing in superior minds or better minds, in terms of governance, in terms of expectations, in terms of performance.
“As far as I am concerned, it is just a case of some Nigerians being asked to move on, some other Nigerians are being brought in, which does not necessarily mean that those who have been shoved aside are inferior to the new people being brought in,” Shittu said.
Tinubu appointed 48 ministers in August 2023, three months after he was inaugurated as Nigeria’s president.
One of the ministers, Betta Edu, was suspended in January 2024, while another, Simon Lalong, resigned and joined the Senate.
Tinubu has faced intense criticisms over his ministers’ performance in the last 15 months since their appointment with Nigeria’s wobbling economy, skyrocketing inflation and worsening security.
The president, however, bowed to pressure to shake up his cabinet on Wednesday, with the disengagement of five ministers, the reassignment of 10 others and seven fresh appointments.
Reacting, Shittu said the cabinet shake-up was a mere political ritual to appease displeased citizens.
“More often than not, it is not everybody who is appointed as a minister that fits in.
“You’ll agree with me that because of the Nigerian factor, a lot of decisions have political colourations than meritocracy in determining who becomes a minister,” the former minister said.
Shittu said ministerial nominees must be thoroughly screened by the Senate, as Nigerians don’t have the patience for trial-and-error ministers.
