KEY POINTS
- Tinubu’s cabinet reshuffle list is ready but delayed.
- Some ministries may be scrapped or merged in upcoming changes.
- Tinubu’s leave in the UK ends on October 16.
President Bola Tinubu is expected to soon release the names and roles of officials who will serve in his reshuffled cabinet, according to multiple sources in the Presidency who spoke to Saturday PUNCH.
Tinubu expected to release cabinet reshuffle list soon
The sources, who requested anonymity, said Tinubu has finalized the list of ministers to retain and those to remove, with the release initially expected on Thursday night. This followed his arrival in the United Kingdom for a two-week annual leave.
Facing mounting pressure within and outside his party, the All Progressives Congress, to remove underperforming ministers amid economic difficulties and nationwide protests last August, Tinubu had warned several times against poor performance. However, there have been a few changes to his cabinet, aside from the suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, in January 2024.
At a three-day retreat for cabinet members and aides last November, Tinubu introduced a Central Delivery Coordination Unit, led by Special Adviser on Policy Coordination Hadiza Bala-Usman, to measure the performance of ministers and top officials. Tinubu said these performance reports would guide decisions on who stays in or leaves the cabinet.
Tinubu told the participants, “If you perform, you have nothing to fear. We will review it if you miss the objective. Without performance, you will leave us. No one is an island, and the buck stops on my desk.”
One year after Tinubu inaugurated his cabinet in August, Sunday PUNCH reported that a reshuffle was imminent, although officials could not confirm the exact timing. Sources indicated that the reshuffle would go beyond portfolio swaps; some ministries, such as the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, might be scrapped, while others could be split or merged.
Officials who spoke on Friday said Tinubu was expected to release the list on Thursday but decided to delay it. “We are just waiting for the go-ahead,” said one source. “All I know is that we are waiting for him to send the new names of those he wants to drop and those he wants to appoint. We have been expecting them since yesterday. He said he wants to sleep on the list again before releasing it. Maybe he still wants to make changes.”
Presidency sources deny reports of lobbying in the UK
Another source expressed surprise that the list did not come out on Thursday, adding that the process was “almost finalized.” An official also denied reports that lobbyists had crowded Tinubu’s residence in the UK.
“That’s not true,” the source said. “There are speculations all over the place. Do they know where he is? Even if they do, can they access him? Some say lobbyists are visiting him, but he is likely to undergo medicals on this trip. The way he is resting now, no one can just see him. They won’t allow access like that. I can guarantee it.”
On Sept. 25, the Presidency confirmed that a cabinet reshuffle was forthcoming, based on performance data submitted by the Central Delivery Coordination Unit.
Tinubu’s working leave in the UK started on Oct. 2 and will end on Oct. 16.
