Cabinet reshuffle: Tinubu to rejig cabinet based on ministers’ performance
…As pressure mounts for accountability within administration amid delivery scrutiny
President Bola Tinubu is preparing to undertake a reshuffle of his cabinet, with sources confirming that the changes will be informed by a thorough assessment of ministerial performances over recent months.
During a joint briefing at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, indicated that the reshuffle is on the horizon, although specific timing remains unspecified.
“The President has expressed his desire to reshuffle his cabinet, and he will do it.
“I don’t know whether he’s going to do it before October 1, but he will surely do it,”stated Onanuga.
Echoing this sentiment, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital/New Media, O’Tega Ogra, emphasised that the decision to revamp the cabinet will be rooted in empirical evidence.
“The President’s decision to reshuffle his cabinet is also based on performance reports,” Ogra explained, affirming that the performance data is compiled by Hadiza Bala-Usman, the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination who also leads the Central Delivery Coordination Unit.
The looming reshuffle comes in response to increasing calls from both the public and party members for the President to address perceived underperformance among certain ministers.
Reports suggest that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation may be dissolved as part of the restructuring process. Additionally, it is anticipated that some ministerial portfolios will be reconfigured, with potential splits and mergers.
Sources at the presidency further hinted that the exercise would also see some portfolios split and others merged into a single entity, while some ministers would be relieved of their duties.
Although the President warned against underperformance about 10 months ago, the cabinet remained largely intact, save for the suspension of Dr. Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Last November, after a three-day retreat for cabinet members and presidential aides, Tinubu announced that a Central Delivery Coordination Unit headed by Mrs. Hadiza Bala-Usman, would measure the performance of ministers and other top government officials.
Their performance would determine who would leave or remain, Tinubu stated.
“If you are performing, there is nothing to fear. If you miss the objective, we’ll review it. If no performance, you leave us. No one is an island and the buck stops on my desk,” the President told participants.
This proactive approach distinguishes Tinubu’s administration from that of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, whose cabinet largely remained unchanged over his eight-year tenure, aside from a few isolated cases.
Ten months earlier, during a cabinet retreat, President Tinubu warned ministers about the implications of underperformance, proposing a system where ongoing evaluations would dictate job security
