.Charges newly appointed ministers, reassigned colleagues to see their appointment as call to serve Nigeria
.President has no basis to scrap Niger Delta Affairs ministry – Edwin Clark
By Ihesiulo Grace & Tunde Opalana
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday, announced significant restructuring and changes within the Federal Government aimed at enhancing efficiency and delivering on promises to the nation.
Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy, made the announcement while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
Key changes which the President made according to Onanuga include renaming the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development to oversee various regional commissions, merging ministries like Sports Development into the National Sports Commission, and reassigning ministers to new portfolios.
It also includes the sack of five ministers, appointment of seven new ones.
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The ministers sacked include Barr. Uju-Ken Ohanenye, Minister of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John, Minister of Tourism; and Prof. Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education.
Others are: Abdullahi Gwarzo, Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development; and Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development.
Tinubu also appointed seven new ministers and assigned portfolios to them, subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Dr Nentawe Yilwatda was appointed Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Muhammadu Dingyadi, Minister of Labour and Employment; Mrs Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu, Minister of State Foreign Affairs; and Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.
Others are Idi Maiha, Minister of Livestock Development Federal Ministry; Rt. Hon. Yusuf Ata, Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development; and Dr Suwaiba Ahmad, Minister of State Education.
The President also appointed Shehu Dikko as Chairman of the National Sports Commission and Mr Sunday Dare as Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication and Orientation, working from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
Tinubu also restructured the Ministry of Nigeria Delta Development, which is now the Ministry of Regional Development to oversee the activities of all the Regional Development Commissions.
The Regional Development Commissions to be under the supervision of the new Ministry are: the Niger Delta Development Commission, the South East Development Commission, the North East Development and the North West Development Commission.
The President also approved the immediate winding up of the Ministry of Sports Development and the transfer of its functions to the National Sports Commission in order to develop a vibrant sports economy.
Similarly, the President approved the merger of the Federal Ministry of Tourism and the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture to become the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
Tinubu re-assigned 10 ministers to new ministerial portfolios.
Dr. Yusuf Sununu, formerly Minister of State, Education is now Minister of State Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, while Dr. Morufu Alausa, Minister State, Health, is now Minister of Education.
Barr. Bello Goronyo, Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation, is now Minister of State Works and Hon. Abubakar Momoh, Minister of Niger Delta Development, is now Minister of Regional Development.
Uba Ahmadu, Minister of State, Steel Development, is now Minister of State Regional Development, while Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, is now Minister of State Finance.
Sen. John Enoh, Minister of Sports Development, is now Minister of State, Trade and Investment (Industry), while Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Minister of State, Police Affairs, is now Minister of Women Affairs.
Ayodele Olawande, Minister of State for Youth Development, is now Minister for Youth Development, and Dr Salako Adeboye, Minister of State, Environment, is now Minister of State, Health.
The President thanked the outgoing members of the FEC for their service to the nation and wished them the best in their future endeavours.
He charged the newly appointed ministers as well as their reassigned colleagues to see their appointment as a call to serve the nation.
He added that all appointees must understand the administration’s eagerness and determination to set Nigeria on the path to irreversible growth.
He urged them to invest the best of their abilities into the actualisation of the government’s priorities.
Meanwhile, foremost Ijaw nationalist and Niger Delta advocate, Chief Edwin Clark, has bemoaned the scrapping of the Niger Delta Affairs ministry by President Bola Tinubu.
He said there was no basis for jettisoning the special purpose vehicle agency established by the administration of late president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to address development challenges in the oil rich Niger Delta region and to stem restiveness in the economic environment.
Reacting to the Federal Government’s decision to scrap the ministry in a major cabinet reshuffle and mini-restructuring on Wednesday, the first republic Information minister questioned government’s policy implementation strategies.
In a telephone conversation monitored in Abuja yesterday, Chief Clark said the news came to him as a surprise.
He said: “There’s no basis for scrapping it now, Yar’Adua had a point for creating it, to develop the Niger Delta region and Nigeria, to bring peace to the region.
“There’s no basis for scrapping it. Yar’Adua had a clear purpose to address the security situation in the Niger Delta, which led to the creation of the ministry focused on developing that area. We have been working for some time now, managing our commissions.”
Talking about the unjustifiable reasons for the scrapping, he said “it’s not about that; it’s the administrative structure created by the President. Unfortunately, it was misunderstood by Nigerians due to its complexity.
“Why would you take over a Ministry without any development plans, funding, or concrete actions? Even the East-West Road, which was meant to be under the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, is not being addressed; it has been handed back to the Ministry of Works.
“What I’m saying is that the Federal Government lacks special arrangements for this. When I saw that every region was establishing its own development centers or Commissions, I anticipated these issues would arise.
“Are there going to be multiple ministries within one region? One would expect that 30 or 40 people would have walked out to share the details.”
Going down memory lane, Chief Clark made reference to recommendations made during the national conference in 2014, saying “it was decided to increase the revenue allocation to the regions from 13% to 25%. Ultimately, it was settled at 18%, but we disagreed, which led to further discussions about a separate fund to support development post-Boko Haram.
“There was also an agreement that 5% of the federation account would be allocated annually to support regions affected by the conflict. Unfortunately, this has not been implemented.
“We also agreed that 5% of the revenue account should be dedicated to developing mineral resources and other industries to enhance local capacity.
“I was pleased with these discussions, but they haven’t translated into action, which is concerning.”
Clark said the Tinubu government needs to consult with the leaders of the Niger Delta and the South-South regions.
“What we’re saying is that these unresolved issues cannot be overlooked by the government.
“The government must explain why they decided to halt critical legislation.
“This raises concerns about how the benefits of regional development are being managed. Many people feel disconnected from the process, and it seems resources are being diverted from local needs.
“We need to ensure that regional development isn’t scrapped without a clear plan for its replacement. We will not allow it to be scrapped, the government wants to South South money to develop other Development Commissions.
“In a democratic system, the government should be created for the people, by the people, and for their benefit. It shouldn’t operate as a one-man show.”
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