By Jude Opara, Abuja
Following the recent cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Tinubu, a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Osita Okechukwu has urged the president to reconsider relinquishing the position of Minister of Petroleum resources which he has occupied since the inception of his administration.
Okechukwu while commending President Tinubu for compelling all the ministers to be on their toes; by exercising the executive powers conferred on him by Section 5(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic, said already he has a lot of issues demanding his attention.
The former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) stressed that many APC members want him to succeed and win the 2027 presidential election through free and fair ballot devoid of controversy.
“Mr. President deserves kudos for adhering to the ageless doctrine of Key Performance Index (KPI) evaluation, which is a major management tool that guarantees transparency and accountability.
“In the same vein, I wish to appeal to Mr. President to complete the reshuffle process by relinquishing the post of Minister of Petroleum Resources as a matter of urgent national importance. This step would go a long way to stem, if not weed out, the buccaneer antics of the less than transparent Oil Mafia,” he stated.
According to him, the cabinet shakeup which was carried out during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting last week, was significant because it shipped out five ministers while those remaining were strongly advised to perform of face the exit door.
Okechukwu further argued that dropping his role in the petroleum ministry will give President Tinubu the opportunity to sanitize the sector since he will be positioned as the general overseer ask necessary questions and effect needed actions.
“It would be strategic if President Tinubu willingly vacates the office of Minister. I am making this humble appeal on the grounds that it is practically unimaginable and absolutely impossible for the Hadiza Bala Usman-led Coordinating Policy Unit to monitor or even take a cursory glance at the Petroleum Ministry as it would amount to supervising her principal, the President, who is the Minister,” he noted.
He further cautioned the President not to fall into the toxic state capture trap of Minister of Petroleum, which made the operation of the oil industry opaque and made it impossible for former Presidents to even fix one out of four petroleum refineries in over two decades.
