New details have surfaced explaining why President Bola Tinubu chose to remove five ministers but retained the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, in his cabinet, despite accusations of sponsoring banditry.
The ministers who were removed from office include Mrs Uju-Ken Ohanenye (Women Affairs), Lola Ade-John (Tourism), Prof. Tahir Mamman, SAN (Education), Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Youth Development), and Abdullahi Gwarzo (Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development).
According to the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the decision to dismiss the ministers was influenced by public perception and empirical data on their performance.
Onanuga explained that the reshuffle came as a response to the critical views held by Nigerians regarding the ministers’ effectiveness in office.
Why ministers were sacked
However, sources within the Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress hinted that the decision was also based on the “lack of political value” of the affected ministers in their respective states.
According to an APC chieftain at the party’s headquarters in Abuja, a key consideration was whether the removal of any of the ministers would incite political unrest in their states.
They evaluated if their sack would lead to a crisis for the president in their regions, and the feedback was that it would not,” he said.
The source further noted that while some ministers were sacked due to underperformance, others were dismissed based on concerns over their conduct and limited political relevance.
Matawalle’s escape
Sources explained that President Tinubu chose to retain certain ministers despite public dissatisfaction with their performance due to considerations around his potential second-term ambition and the political roles the ministers might play.
Some ministers reported to have equally underperformed included the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola; Minister of Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji; and Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, among others.
Matawalle has been repeatedly accused of sponsoring banditry in Zamfara State, an allegation he has always denied. Onanuga also stated that the allegations against him were unproven.
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