Echoes of cabinet reshuffle trail ministers’ performance a year after

• Knocks, kudos for Tinubu’s ministers, performance
• Opposition parties, CSOs flay President’s choices, profligate lifestyle of ministers
• Wike, Umahi, Tunji-Ojo rated high

Exactly a year after President Bola Tinubu inaugurated his cabinet of 45 ministers with the remit of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’, a significant number of Nigerians have expressed displeasure with the performance of the team.

While some acknowledged flashes of brilliance in some ministers, the consensus of critical stakeholders is the urgency of a cabinet reshuffle, with the President replacing his political allies with more capable, experienced, and committed professionals – if he truly hopes to save the country from looming socio-economic implosion.

Stakeholders’ assessment of the ministers indicated that, except the trio of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike; Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, all others have performed below par in key deliverables.

The dismal scorecard aligns with the 2024 Quarter 1 assessment report by the President’s Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, and the Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU) that scored all the ministers below average, in terms of promises and what they delivered.

Concerned stakeholders specifically flayed the economic and the security teams of the administration, concluding that Nigeria, under Tinubu, has been brought to her knees economically since day one in office.

While Tinubu’s muddled policies have further impoverished the masses, Nigerians expressed displeasure at the profligate lifestyle of the cabinet members, which they blamed on the inability of the President to lead by example and tame corruption under his watch.

While the majority of the stakeholders remained hopeful that the government could still rescue the situation, particularly economic hardship and insecurity, the major opposition parties – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) – said the challenges facing Nigeria in the area of welfare and security, are neither about the ministers nor reshuffling the cabinet, but that “the president has lost control and his cluelessness is what each of the cabinet members is displaying in their various ministries”.

Speaking to The Guardian, National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, stated there was no need to assess the ministers but the government itself.

He said if the model of governance, which is the security and the welfare of the people under Section 14 (2) of the 1999 Constitution is considered “President Tinubu himself has not led by example, not to talk about the ministers”.

In his words: “He only appointed the ministers to promote its administration’s policies but are we secured now as a nation? On the issue of the welfare of the people, we are not good, especially now that we have a palliative economy. We have constant fuel scarcity, epileptic electricity power supply with high tariffs, and corruption at the highest level, which is obvious in all the ministries.”

The PDP Spokesman added that assessment of ministers’ poor performances is just one aspect of the crises facing Nigeria; “the reality is that the government itself has failed to provide what section 14 (2) of the Constitution stipulated for a government, which is welfare and security of the people.

“Every sector of this nation has been completely bastardised as government appointees have shown complete insensitivity. The assessment is just one aspect of the whole issue. We talk about hyperinflation, fuel scarcity, insecurity, policies that are ill-conceived and ill-implemented and then this is a government that lied to the Nigerian people.”

For the Labour Party’s spokesperson, Tanko Yinusa, “The truth is that Mr President had promised a renewed hope, but the hope has been dashed because most of the ministers that he appointed have not been able to align to this particular mantra of a renewed hope. All these show the incapability of a particular president that we have. He has not shown clarity of ideas, innovation and any measure of executing some of the changes that they promised the Nigerian people.”

Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chekwas Okorie, stated that one year was enough for President Tinubu to make a critical assessment of the performance of his ministers, to ensure effective implementation of his renewed hope mantra.

Okorie said that Nigerians were yet to feel the impact of the promise of renewed hope, apparently due to the performance so far of the ministers, stressing that there was a need to look inwards and rejig the cabinet to have square pegs in square holes.

He reckoned that except the Ministers of Works, Federal Capital Territory, Aviation, and Interior, all others are yet to make the needed impacts that could improve the economy for the growth of the country.

“We understand that some of the appointments were made based on ethnicity and political affiliations, but so far, we have seen the way they have carried out their duties. We cannot say that the government has thrived and improved on what it met on the ground. That is why there is a need to rejig his cabinet and ensure that the right people are appointed. Many ministers have not done well,” he said.

Also, Civil Society Organisations, the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and residents expressed disappointment over the poor performance of President Tinubu’s appointees.

Human rights activist, Peter Mazzi, said while some ministers have initiated noteworthy projects within their portfolios, such efforts are overshadowed by the widespread economic distress, especially the removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira.

He said: “These decisions, intended to stabilise the economy, have instead led to a significant increase in inflation, a spike in the cost of goods and services, and an overall decline in the standard of living. As a result, the successes and failures of individual ministers are difficult to isolate from the broader discontent experienced by the populace.”

He added that the stark contrast between the affluent lifestyles of appointees and the suffering masses has been fueling resentment, which culminated in the recent #EndBadGovernance protests.

The INC Spokesman, Ezonebi Oyakemeagbegha, added that the mantra of the administration, ‘Renewed Hope’ alongside other campaign promises of President Tinubu raised the hopes of Nigerians. However, “the hope has been dashed”.

He said none of the ministers performed up to the expectations of Nigerians.

According to him, “There is no significant impact from the Ministry of Agriculture, Aviation, Petroleum, Labour, Health, Education and others. It is, therefore, difficult to give kudos to any for now.”

Similarly, the Executive Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Ibuchukwu Ezike, remarked that the administration has performed poorly in all areas since it was inaugurated on May 29, 2023.

“I have searched right, left, front, and backwards, but couldn’t see anywhere to score President Tinubu’s administration a pass mark. In the oil sector where Mr President, himself, is in charge as the Minister, the sector despite huge lies to Nigerians couldn’t put any of Nigeria’s refineries to use.

“Besides, Nigerians have suffered their highest level of hardship and economic frustration from that sector with pump prices of Petroleum products selling above N1,000. Again, the staff of that sector have been paid billions of naira without doing any work as salaries and allowances. This is the apogee of corruption in Nigeria.

“Hunger is killing Nigerians, an outcome of abandoning Agriculture arising from intractable insecurity challenges that have thrown farmers out of farms now occupied by killer herdsmen and insensitivity of the government to the sector. There is mass unemployment with factories and agriculture abandoned and the government has run out of development ideas with which to run the system,” Ezike said.

Meanwhile, a Fourth Republic Senator, Salisu Ibrahim Matori, said the ministers had been fair, especially as he singled out the Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, for his massive inputs aimed at boosting food production.

He noted there has been a new approach to fertiliser availability. “But the only area I believe the ministry needs to urgently work on is that of the farmers-herders clashes,” he said.

But a Professor of Forest Economics and Sustainable Development, Labode Popoola, said several of the assessments may be subjective, based on inadequate knowledge of the various sectors.

He also said the assessment may be based on sentiments or perceptions. “For example, the Minister of Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has proved that he is a very good administrator, having been able to hit the ground running as a pioneer minister in a new ministry.

“I am also impressed by the zeal of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and that of the Minister for Works, David Umahi. Having said that, the government needs our best wishes, as the tasks at stake are too enormous”, he said.

A law lecturer at Leeds University, Prof. Olu Ojedokun, described many of the ministers as rather invisible or anonymous, though commended the Internal Affairs Minister, Minister of Power, and Wike as having stood out.

He emphasised the need for the President to reshuffle the cabinet. “There is certainly a need to re-jig the cabinet. We need a more suitable person in the foreign ministry, a more effective Tourism Minister, a more focused Works Minister and an effective Sports Minister. Those who are performing are Adelabu, Wike, Edun and Fagbemi. The rest are way below average now. Imagine, who is the information minister? I don’t know and I doubt if many Nigerians know,” he said.