President Bola Tinubu has dropped five serving ministers in a major ministerial reshufflement, even as he appointed the widow of late Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the civil war label leader, Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu and six others as new ministers.
Those that were dropped in the announcement from the presidency today, October 23, are Barrister Uju-Ken Ohanenye, Minister of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John, Minister of Tourism; Professor Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education; Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development and Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development.
The newly appointed ministers are Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi as Minister of Labour & Employment; Bianca Odinaka Odumegu-Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; Dr. Jumoke Oduwole as Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment (Trade and Investment); Idi Mukhtar Maiha as Minister of Livestock Development; Rt. Hon. Yusuf Abdullahi Ata as Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development and Suwaiba Said Ahmad PhD as Minister of State for Education.
These were among the eight far-reaching actions approved by the President to reinvigorate the capacity of his government for optimal efficiency, pursuant to his commitment to deliver on his promises to Nigerians.
The eight actions include:
The renaming of the Ministry of Nigeria Delta Development to Ministry of Regional Development to oversee the activities of all the Regional Development Commissions.
The Regional Development Commissions to be under the supervision of the new Ministry are the Niger Delta Development Commission, the South East Development Commission, the North East Development and the North West
Development Commission.
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.
The merger of the Federal Ministry of Tourism and the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture to become Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy;
The re-assignment of ten ministers to new ministerial portfolios.
The discharge of five Ministers and nomination of seven new ministers for onward transmission to Senate for confirmation;
The appointment of Shehu Dikko as Chairman of the National Sports Commission;
The appointment of Sunday Akin Dare as Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication and Orientation working from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
The ministers that have been reassigned to new portfolios are Hon Dr. Yusuf Tanko
Sununu from Minister of State, Education to Minister of State Humanitarian Affairs
and Poverty Reduction; Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa, from Minister State, Health to Minister of Education; Barr. Bello Muhammad
Goronyo, from Minister of State, Water
Resources and Sanitation to Minister of State
Works and Hon. Abubakar Eshiokpekha Momoh from Minister of Niger Delta Development to Minister of Regional
Development.
Others are Uba Maigari Ahmadu from Minister of State Steel Development to Minister of State
Regional Development; Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite from Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment to Minister of State Finance; Senator John Owan Enoh from Minister of Sports Development to Minister of State, Trade and Investment [Industry]; Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim from Minister of State, Police Affairs to
Minister of Women Affairs and Ayodele Olawande from Minister of State for Youth
Development to Minister for Youth
Development as well as Dr. Salako Iziaq
Adekunle Adeboye from Minister of State,
Environment to Minister of State Health.
President Tinubu thanked the outgoing members of the Federal Executive Council for their service to the nation even as he wished them the best in their future endeavours.
He charged the newly appointed ministers as well as their reassigned colleagues to see their appointment as a call to serve the nation.
He said that all appointees must understand the administration’s eagerness and
determination to set Nigeria on the path to irreversible growth and invest the best of their abilities into the actualisation of the
government’s priorities.
