There are strong indications that President Bola Tinubu may soon carry out a slight reallocation of ministerial portfolios following the inauguration of two new ministers to fill recent vacancies in his cabinet.
Presidency sources revealed that with the Federal Executive Council now complete with 48 ministers, the President is considering a minor reshuffle amid mounting distractions — including US President Donald Trump’s warning on human rights abuses and Nigeria’s sluggish response to insecurity.
Tinubu last conducted a major cabinet shake-up on October 23, 2024, when he dismissed five ministers, appointed seven new ones, and reassigned ten others. Key portfolios such as Finance, Defence, National Planning, and the two Ministers of State for Petroleum remained unchanged.
Signs of another adjustment became apparent last Wednesday after Tinubu swore in two ministers — Dr Bernard Mohammed Doro from Plateau State and Mr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, SAN, from Enugu State — without assigning them portfolios.
Doro replaces Prof. Nenatwe Yilwatda, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs who is now APC National Chairman, while Udeh, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Enugu Attorney General, takes over from Geoffrey Nnaji, who resigned amid a certificate scandal.
The anticipated reshuffle was earlier delayed due to Tinubu’s tight international schedule after Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary.
Last year, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga described the 2024 reshuffle as an “ongoing process,” noting that Tinubu had restructured several ministries, including Humanitarian and Poverty Reduction, Education, Housing, Labour, and Livestock Development.
Meanwhile, the President has approved the appointment of five new Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service to fill existing vacancies, according to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The appointees are Ibrahim Abdulkarim Ozi (FCT), Ezemama John Chidiebere (Imo), Garba Abdul Sule Usman (North Central), Mohammed Musa Ishiyaku (North East), and Ukaire Binyerem Chigbowu (South East).
