The Coalition of Southeast Youths, a leading pan-Igbo political pressure group, has hailed President Bola Tinubu’s decision to restructure his cabinet, saying the action was overdue.
The group has also joined other civil society organisations and opinion leaders in demanding a further rejigging of the cabinet, including the merger of the Ministry of Police Affairs with the Ministry of Interior to strengthen the country’s internal security, improve border security, and eliminate identity theft.
CSYED, in a statement issued by its Coordinator, Wisdom Akunna, on Thursday, specifically noted that correctional centres across the country have seen significant improvement in both aesthetics and inmate well-being, representing a paradigm shift from punitive measures to holistic rehabilitation.
The group said, “We are, however, impressed with the fact that Mr President listened to the overwhelming opinion of Nigerians on the retention of Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo as Interior Minister based on the transformative leadership and the achievements recorded by that Ministry under his watch.”
The group particularly lauded the prompt response to challenges around custodial centres, which have received wholehearted attention.
“In August alone, an approval of a 50% increase in daily feeding allowance per inmate was achieved, alongside the clearance of fines and compensations worth ₦585 million for 4,068 inmates across the country—evidence of the push to strengthen our criminal justice system,” the youths added.
“This year, with strong commitments to partnerships entered into by the Ministry through the Nigeria Correctional Services, an ultra-modern furniture factory was completed in Borno State, while a garments and shoe factory was completed in Abia State.”
The group further noted that the Interior Ministry, under Tunji-Ojo, ended years of stagnation in the paramilitary services under its supervision by promoting over 60,000 senior and junior officers across the Immigration and Civil Defence services.
CSYED also expressed satisfaction with the establishment of a functional Pensions Board that aligns paramilitary salaries with those of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
It noted that, under the Interior Ministry’s supervision, there has been a clearance of a backlog of 204,333 passports at the NIS, completion of a state-of-the-art Data Center and Command and Control Center at the NIS headquarters to ease visa and passport applications, and the installation of E-gates at several airports across the country.
“All these initiatives inspire confidence in the Immigration Service’s capability to meet citizens’ needs, fortify national security, and eliminate identity theft,” CSYED said.
The group further urged President Tinubu to reconsider its earlier “recommendation for the merger of the Police Affairs Ministry to synchronise all our internal security architecture and improve the budgetary allocations to the Interior Ministry to ensure greater productivity.”
