Victor Ezeja
In a major cabinet reshuffle since the commencement of his administration, one year ago, President Bola Tinubu has sacked five ministers.
The president also approved the immediate restructuring of some ministries and reassignment of 10 ministers to new ministerial portfolios.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis was disclosed in a statement released by the presidency on Wednesday.
The president also appointed seven new ministers for Senate confirmation.
According to the statement, the ministers sacked are Barr Uju-Ken Ohanenye, who was Minister of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John, Minister of Tourism; Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education; Abdullahi Gwarzo, Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development; and Jamila Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development.
New Ministerial nominees
The president nominated Nentawe Yilwatda as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to replace Betta Edu, who was suspended some months ago over alleged corruption.
Tinubu also nominated Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu as the Minister of State Foreign Affairs; Maigari Dingyadi as the Minister of Labour and Employment; Jumoke Oduwole as the Minister of Industry; Idi Maiha as Minister for the newly created Livestock Development Ministry; Yusuf Ata as Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, and Suwaiba Ahmad as Minister of State Education.
Restructuring of Ministries
The president also approved the renaming of the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development.
According to the statement, the new ministry will oversee the activities of Regional Development Commissions including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the South-east Development Commission (SEDC), the North-east Development Commission (NEDC), and North-west Development Commission (NWDC).
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The president also ordered the scrapping of the Ministry of Sports Development. The ministry’s functions are to be transferred to the National Sports Commission “in order to develop a vibrant sports economy,” the statement said.
The Federal Ministries of Tourism and Arts and Culture will be merged to become Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
The president expressed gratitude to all outgoing members of his cabinet for their service to the country, and wished them the best in their future engagements.
Ministers Reassigned
Ministers reassigned to other ministerial portfolios include: Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, Minister of State Education to Minister of State, Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Dr Morufu Olatunji Alausa, Minister of State for Health to Minister of Education; Barr Bello Muhammad Goronyo, Minister of State Water Resources and Sanitation to Minister of State Works; Abubakar Momoh, Minister of Niger Delta Development to Minister of Regional Development; and Uba Maigari Ahmadu, Minister of State Steel Development to Minister of State Regional Development.
Others are Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment to Minister of State Finance; John Owan Enoh, Minister of Sports Development to Minister of State Industry, Trade and Investment; Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Minister of State, Police Affairs to Minister of Women Affairs; Ayodele Olawande, Minister of State for Youth Development to Minister for Youth Development; and Dr Salako Adekunle Adeboye, Minister of State Environment to Minister of State Health.
Tinubu charged the newly appointed ministers and those re-assigned to other ministries to see their appointment as a call to service to the country and put in the best of their abilities for the actualization of his administration’s priorities.
The president also announced the appointment of Shehu Dikko as Chairman of the National Sports Commission and Sunday Akin Dare as his Special Adviser on Public Communication and Orientation. Dare will work from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the statement clarified.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
