By our correspondents
President Muhammadu Buhari seems to have made up his mind to begin a steady restructuring of his cabinet apparently to reposition for sustained delivery on his election promises.
He has started by removing, yesterday, ministers of two critical ministries that he considers strategic to the delivery of his election promises to Nigerians.
The affected minisers are of Power, Saleh Mamman and that of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono.
The President also redeployed two Ministers to take over from them.
The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Mahmoud Abubakar is to take over as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development while the Minister of State for Works, Abubakar Aliyu, is to take over as the Minister for Power.
The sack of the Ministers was announced in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina which said the process of changing the cabinet is ongoing.
The implication is that more minisers might be shown the way out sooner than later who are either not living up to expectation or are not performing or delivering on their mandate as expected.
The cardinal objectives of the administration of President Buhari center on fighting corruption, fixing the economy and addressing security.
Fixing the economy will depend largely on the stability of the power sector which has failed to take firm roots over the years despite the collosal amount of monies sunk into power projects across the country.
The change of the Power Minister could be the much needed elixir to turn around the power sector to aid the boosting of the economy.
Agriculture which is expected to lead the way for the diversification of the economy to provide the shock absorber needed to cushion the effect of the downward slide in the price of crude oil has not performed as expected. Oil has been the mainstay of the economy and the government is desirous of nurturing agriculture to play a leading role.
Recall that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently announced the GDP growth of 5.01 per cent for Q2 2021.
And the Federal Government (FG) in a reaction on Monday expressed hope in the steady growth of the economy and predicted a further growth by over five percent before the end of 2021.
The head of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Dr Simon however noted that the country has seen positive growth rate in all sectors of the economy in the second quarter except in Agriculture which did not perform well as expected.
“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,” President Buhari said.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina announced the development after the weekly cabinet meeting presided over by President Buhari.
He said the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar has been redeployed to the Ministry of Agriculture while the Minister of State for Works, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu is to resume as Minister of Power with immediate effect.
The Presidential Spokesman further hinted that the exercise will continue to fill vacancies as prescribed in the constitution.
The full text of the statement signed by Adesina and made available to newsmen later reads:
“On Wednesday 21st August, 2019 the current Federal Executive Council 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 9 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 Federal Executive Council meetings was 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. They are as follows:
“Ministers Leaving the Cabinet:
Mohammed Sabo Nanono, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Engr. Sale Mamman, Minister of Power.
“Redeployment: Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, Minister of Environment, to assume office as the Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development;
“Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, Minister of State, Works & Housing assume office as the Minister of Power.
“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 Federal Executive Council deliberations and I wish them the best in all future endeavours.
“Finally, I wish to reiterate once more, that this process shall be continuous.
“I thank you all and May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
