President Bola Tinubu swore in seven new cabinet members at the State House’s Council Chamber in Abuja.
This follows their ratification by the Senate on Thursday, when all seven nominations were approved after being individually reviewed.
The new cabinet members took the oath of office in two batches—four in the first and three in the second—after their citations were read by Abiodun Oladunjoye, the State House Director of Information.
The first four appointees are Idi Maiha (Minister of Livestock Development), Yusuf Ata (Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development), Dr. Suwaiba Ahmad (Minister of State, Education), and Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu (Minister of State, Foreign Affairs).
Subsequently, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole (Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment), Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda (Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction), and Muhammadu Dingyadi (Minister of Labour and Employment) took their oaths before the President.
In a major cabinet reshuffle on October 23, Tinubu approved the reassignment of 10 ministers to new portfolios, dismissed five others, and nominated seven new ministers for the Senate for confirmation.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
