President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dismissed six ministers as part of a significant restructuring of his cabinet aimed at enhancing government efficiency.
The ministers relieved of their duties include Barr. Uju-Ken Ohanenye, Minister of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John, Minister of Tourism; Prof. Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education; Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development; Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development; and the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Betta Edu.
The shake-up was announced by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, who also detailed the reassignment of ten ministers to new portfolios and the nomination of seven new ministers pending Senate confirmation.
Among the new appointments, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda will take over as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, while Bianca Odinaka Odumegwu-Ojukwu has been named Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Other new ministers include Dr. Jumoke Oduwole as Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Idi Mukhtar Maiha as Minister of Livestock Development, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Abdullahi Ata as Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, and Dr. Suwaiba Said Ahmad as Minister of State for Education.
President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the outgoing members of the Federal Executive Council for their service and wished them well in their future endeavors. He emphasized that the new ministers, along with their reassigned colleagues, must view their appointments as a call to national service.
“The President urged the new appointees to fully commit themselves to the administration’s vision of setting Nigeria on a path of irreversible growth, highlighting the importance of investing their best efforts to realise the government’s priorities,” Onanuga stated.
In addition to the cabinet changes, President Tinubu appointed Shehu Dikko as Chairman of the National Sports Commission, which will oversee the activities of the now-defunct Ministry of Sports Development.
The reshuffle also includes significant structural changes, such as the renaming of the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development, which will supervise various regional commissions, including the Niger Delta Development Commission and others.
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The President approved several actions to boost the administration’s capacity, including the merger of the Federal Ministry of Tourism and the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture into one entity, the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
During a briefing after the Federal Executive Council meeting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, clarified that the new Ministry of Regional Development would manage the activities of all regional development commissions in the country.
He also stated, “The immediate winding up of the Ministry of Sports Development and the transfer of its functions to the National Sports Commission in order to develop a vibrant sports economy,” adding that this move is part of the administration’s commitment to driving key government priorities.
