President Bola Tinubu wielded his big stick on Wednesday, and like a surgeon in a theatre, he used his surgical knife, removing five ministers, redeploying ten, and appointing seven fresh nominees as ministers to replace the sacked ones, as well as two others — Betta Edu, who was initially suspended, and Simon Lalong, who left his cabinet to join the Senate.
Tinubu, the ex-Lagos governor, appointed 48 ministers in August 2023, three months after his inauguration. The Senate immediately screened and confirmed the ministers. One of the ministers, Betta Edu, was suspended in January, while ex-Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, resigned and moved to the upper legislative chamber.
There have been growing calls for the President to reshuffle his cabinet as many Nigerians are not impressed by the performance of some of the ministers, especially in the face of unprecedented inflation, an excruciating economic situation, and rising insecurity.
Despite the shake-up on Wednesday, about 30 ministers were not affected; they were neither sacked nor redeployed.
They are:
- Minister of Power – Adebayo Adelabu
- Minister of Defence – Mohammed Badaru
- Minister of State, Defence – Bello Matawalle
- Minister of Housing & Urban Development – Ahmed M. Dangiwa
- Minister of Budget & Economic Planning – Atiku Bagudu
- Minister of Water Resources & Sanitation – Joseph Utsev
- Minister of Police Affairs – Ibrahim Geidam
- Minister of Steel Development – Shuaibu A. Audu
- Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy – Wale Edun
- Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) – Nyesom Wike
- Minister of Transportation – Sa’idu Alkali
- Minister of State (Gas), Petroleum Resources – Ekperipe Ekpo
- Minister of Environment – Balarabe Abbas Lawal
- Minister of Agriculture and Food Security – Abubakar Kyari
- Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Security – Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi
- Minister of Interior – Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
- Minister of Foreign Affairs – Yusuf M. Tuggar
- Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare – Ali Pate
- Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development – Festus Keyamo
- Minister of Works – David Umahi
- Minister of State (Oil), Petroleum Resources – Heineken Lokpobiri
- Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology – Uche Nnaji
- Minister of Solid Minerals Development – Dele Alake
- Minister of Information and National Orientation – Muhammed Idris
- Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice – Lateef Fagbemi
- Minister of Marine and Blue Economy – Adegboyega Oyetola
- Minister of State, Labour and Employment – Nkiruka Onyejeocha
- Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs – Zephaniah Jisalo
- Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy – Bosun Tijani
