President Bola Tinubu has vowed to remove any under-performing ministers from his cabinet. He made this declaration during a meeting with the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.
Tinubu emphasized the need to meet the expectations of Nigerians, stating, “I thank the cabinet members for their efforts, but I will relieve any of them of their duties anytime I feel that they are failing Nigerians.”
He urged the governors to be more responsive to the needs of local communities, highlighting the importance of local governance in delivering services. “People reside in the local communities. That is where they work, farm, and live. If the local governments are not effective in delivering services, as leaders, we must not hang on to the numbers,” he said. Tinubu suggested recalibrating strategies, noting that what worked four years ago might not be effective today.
Addressing the issue of education, Tinubu described the situation of out-of-school children as unacceptable. “Education is a tool against poverty, and that is what brought many of us here. We must use our education to serve the people and improve their conditions. We must develop the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, which is the education system. We will collaborate with you on this intensively,” he stated.
He also called attention to the urgent need for infrastructure development and poverty reduction, particularly in the northern regions of the country. “The infrastructure decay is unacceptable, and the level of poverty in the north is unacceptable. We must eliminate the source of these trends,” Tinubu said.
Bashir Dalhatu, the leader of the delegation and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ACF, congratulated Tinubu on his first year in office and praised his achievements and commitment to service. Dalhatu noted that Tinubu’s assurances to Northerners during the election campaign had proven to be significant.
In an earlier report, it was noted that Tinubu was prepared to fire ministers who failed to deliver on set targets. The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed this stance, adding that while the President had not yet decided on the ministers’ performances, those found wanting would be asked to leave the cabinet. Onanuga rated the administration’s performance at 70 percent as it approached its first year in office.
