President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally nominated a replacement for the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Eradication, Dr. Betta Edu, who had been in suspension for about 10 months, effectively dashing any hopes of her reinstatement.
This was part of the cabinet reshuffle announced by the President Wednesday as contained in a statement put out by his Special Adviser, Social Media, Dada Olusegun.
Apart from Edu, the other ministers who were dropped are Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, Minister of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John, Minister of Tourism; and Jamila Bio Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development, Tahir Mamman Minister of Education as well as Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo.
The statement read, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR has approved the immediate implementation of eight far-reaching actions to reinvigorate the Administration’s capacity for optimal efficiency pursuant of his commitment to deliver on his promises to Nigerians.”
The eight actions approved by the President include the renaming of the Ministry of Nigeria Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development to oversee the activities of all the Regional Development Commissions; the transfer of the functions of the Ministry of Sports Development to the National Sports Commission; the merger of the Federal Ministry of Tourism and the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture to become the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
The newly nominated Ministers and their respective portfolios are:
Idi Mukhtar Maiha, the newly created Ministry of Livestock Development; Yusuf Abdullahi Ata was appointed as Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development; Suwaiba Said Ahmad a Minister of State Education; Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
The others are Jumoke Oduwole, Ministry of Trade and Investment (Industry); Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction while Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi was nominated as the Minister of Labour & Employment.
These nominations are subject to confirmation by the Senate and except in a few cases, it is as good as a done deal.