Tinubu to Sack Underperforming Ministers in Major Cabinet Reshuffle

Just over a year into appointing his cabinet members, sources indicate that Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu will sack some underperforming members, while others will be reassigned to different ministries.

According to Punch newspaper, the shake-up is due to pressure both from within and outside the party for ministers and aides who are not delivering on their duties to be replaced for more effective implementation of the President’s policies.

“What I can tell you is some (ministers) will go. A few will swap positions, and new people will be brought on board. But the President will be focused more on capacity now; on people who can easily add value to his government,” Punch quoted an anonymous source.

Reports of the possible reshuffling come in the wake of the President dismissing Yusuf Bichi as Director-General of the Directorate of State Services (DSS), with Adeola Ajayi named in his place.

Earlier, on August 24, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, resigned after meeting with the President in Abuja.

Although it remains unclear which ministers will be affected in this alleged reshuffle, another source claimed that the general consensus is that the President needs a stronger cabinet to push through his policies.

“It is one thing to announce policies, and it is another thing for your ministers to deliver the outcomes you want. Oftentimes, it is the capacity of your cabinet members and heads of agencies that determines how you will deliver on those outcomes,” the source said.