PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has relieved two ministers of their appointments in a move he said is to reinvigorate his cabinet.
They are the Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammed Sabo Nanono and his Power counterpart, Engineer Saleh Mamman. Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Femi Adesina, announced this on Wednesday.
He said the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar has been redeployed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development while the Minister of State for Works and Housing, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, is to take over as Minister of Power.
He said the exercise will continue to fill vacancies as prescribed in the constitution. President Buhari read a text announcing the minor reshuffle of the cabinet to ministers during Wednesday’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The text read in part: “On August 21, 2019, the current FEC was sworn in after a rigorous retreat to bring returning and new members up to speed on the accomplishments, challenges and lessons drawn from my first term in office and to emphasise the nine priority areas of government for the second term.
“Two years and some months into the second term, the tradition of subjecting our projects and programs implementation to independent and critical self-review has taken firm roots through sector reporting during cabinet meetings and at retreats.
“These significant review steps have helped to identify and strengthen weak areas, close gaps, build cohesion and synergy in governance, manage the economy and improve the delivery of public good to Nigerians.
“I must commend this cabinet for demonstrating unparalleled resilience that helped the government to navigate the disruption to global systems and governance occasioned by the emergence of COVID-19 shortly after inauguration. The weekly FEC meetings were not spared because the traditional mode was altered.
“As we are all aware, change is the only factor that is constant in every human endeavour and as this administration approaches its critical phase in the second term, I have found it essential to reinvigorate this cabinet in a manner that will deepen its capacity to consolidate legacy achievements.
“Accordingly, a few cabinet changes, marking the beginning of a continuous process, have been approved.”
President Buhari added: “In due course, substantive nominations will be made to fill the consequential vacancies in accordance with the requirements of the constitution.
“I have personally met with the departing members to thank them for their contributions to discussions in cabinet and the invaluable services rendered to the nation. Today effectively marks their last participation in the FEC deliberations and I wish them the best in all future endeavours.
“Finally, I wish to reiterate once more, that this process shall be continuous. Reacting, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has observed that Nigerians are not swayed by the sack of two ministers, noting that the action by President Buhari is “a ludicrous and infective attempt to cover for his failures in office.”
The party, in a statement by Kola Ologbondiyan, its national publicity secretary, therefore, called on President Buhari and the APC to note that Nigerians are not swayed by the sack of the ministers but are eagerly awaiting the exit of the Buhari Presidency and the APC on May 29, 2023.
The PDP informed that it is investigating the real reason behind their sack, “given Mr President’s public approach to fighting corruption by ‘easing out’ the culprits.
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