•Tinubu (4th right), Shettima (middle) and the new ministers after swearing in.
President Bola Tinubu has sworn in seven newly-appointed ministers at the Council Chambers, Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, reports Channels TV.
Those sworn in include Nentawe Yilwatda as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi as the Minister of Labour & Employment; Bianca Odinaka Odumegwu-Ojukwu as the Minister of State Foreign Affairs.
Others are Jumoke Oduwole (Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment (Trade and Investment), Idi Mukhtar Maiha (Minister of Livestock Development), Yusuf Abdullahi Ata (Minister of State, Housing, and Urban Development), and Suwaiba Said Ahmad as the Minister of State Education.
In his address to the ministers, Tinubu asked them not to shy away from responsibilities.
“Nigeria’s head is above the waters. This ship will not sink. We will not run away from our responsibilities,” he said.
“I am proud to lead you and we will lead you to success and prosperity… We have taken the bull by the horns. We have stopped the scavengers and profiteers…”
Today’s swearing-in came days after their appointments by President Tinubu and subsequent confirmation by the Senate.
Calls for the reshuffling of the president’s cabinet reached new levels in the wake of Nigeria’s dwindling economic fortunes which have worsened the living standards across the country.
President Tinubu heeded the calls in October, sacking five ministers and nominating seven others. Those dismissed included Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye (Women Affairs); Lola Ade-John (Tourism); Tahir Mamman (Education); Abdullahi Gwarzo (State, Housing and Urban Development), and Jamila Ibrahim (Youth Development).
This was in addition to the reassignment of new portfolios to 10 other ministers.
Tinubu appointed a 48-person cabinet in August 2023, just three months after his inauguration.
While the Senate swiftly screened them and confirmed their nominations, one of them Simon Lalong moved to the upper lawmaking body. Betta Edu (in charge of the Humanitarian Ministry) was suspended owing to allegations of corruption.
Scrapping, Merger
In his latest reshuffling of the cabinet, Tinubu also scrapped two ministries – the Niger Delta Development and the Sports Development.
The president instead announced the Ministry of Regional Development in place of the scrapped Niger Delta Development Ministry.
It will oversee the activities of all development commissions.
Some of the development commissions under the new Ministry of Regional Development include the Niger Delta Development Commission, the South East Development Commission, the North East Development and the North West Development Commission.
For the Ministry of Sports Development, Tinubu pushed its functions to the National Sports Commission (NSC) which he charged to “develop a vibrant sports economy”.
He also approved the merger of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Arts and Culture to become the Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
