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Ministers That Should Not Make Buhari’s New Cabinet

Published

7 years ago

June 15, 2019

Eric

By: Promise Oshewa

Months after he won his second term and weeks after his swearing in, Nigerians are still waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to name his cabinet.

From all indications, Mr President is not going to hit the ground running and all Nigerians want now is if the cabinet is eventually named, they will be first-rate Nigerians.

The former cabinet members have played their part in the last administration and we have gone to town to find out which of these Ministers they do not want to return.

While some where described as inconspicuous, others had strong name recognition but failed in terms of the assignments given.

It shocked many that some of these Ministers were not shown the door in the last four years.

The power to appoint a minister no doubt is constitutionally vested in Mr. President and the crucial responsibilities of a minister are also well stipulated in Section 148 of the 1999 Constitution but what Nigerians are saying is that he must choose the right team to help take Nigeria to the next level.

Here is a list of Ministers who from our findings performed below par and Nigerians would not want them back.

Minister of Defence -Mansur Dan-Ali

A retired General, Mansur Dan-Ali in his heart of hearts knows that he has not been outstanding as the Minister of Defence l.

If there was one thing that many Nigerians believed the Buhari government will do, it was that Nigeria will be very secure.

Unfortunately this has not been the case as there has been lapses in almost all par5s parts of the country.

If it is not Herdsmen clashing with farmers, it is bandits raiding villages or kidnappers taling over major highways like Kaduna-Abuja, Ife-Ibadan and so on.

Even the Boko Haram that the government has done a great job of dealing with are still spreading sorrow, tears and blood with their terrorist

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice -Abubakar Malami

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice should not be returned to office. He has been held responsible for the cases of disobedience of court orders by the government especially in the case of Sheikh El Zaky Zakky and Col Sambo Dasuki (Rtd).

He has also been lambasted for holding on to case files and even stopping some cases which has not gone down with many.

Adebayo Shittu (Minister for Communication)

Mr Adebayo Shittu his controversies apart has not performed in his role as Minister well.

Right from his Ministerial screening at the floor of the Senate, it was obvious that he was not going to shine.

Shittu was at sea during the MTN fine saga and hasn’t articulated a single policy to improve the sector.

Solomon Dalung (Minister of Youth and Sports)

This beret-loving Minister got one of the lowest scores in our survey.

He promised grassroots development and failed, he was busy fighting the sports associations and even became a Minister of Football with his attempt to oust NFF President Amaju Pinnick

Mr Dalung’s tenure will be remebered for bringing the country to shame with the issue of the $135,000 over payment that he refused to return giving outlandish excuses.

Proper organisation and policy formulation weren’t his thing.

Usani Usani Uguru (Minister of Niger Delta)

He’s in pole position to win the most anonymous Minister award alongside several others in Buhari’s team. Sometimes, you wonder if Usani understands the demands of his office.

Instead of facing his work which is so enormous considering the development challenges of the Niger Delta Region, he was busy playing local politics in his home state of Cross River.

His meddlesome attitude was so bad that he was suspended by the ruling APC.

Abdulrahman Dambazau (Minister of Interior):

Like his counterpart in Defence, he has not performed well despite being a former General. The security situation has been his greatest albatross and it seems he has run out of ideas.

He is one of those Ministers that needed to lose weight, apologies to Mr President

Udoma Udo Udoma (Minister of Budget and National Planning):

Despite his sterling resume, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma seems to have punched above his weight with this portfolio.

There’s a feeling that Udoma was at fault for the mess that the 2016 budget became—the mangled numbers and the padding happened on his watch. In saner climes, he should have tendered his resignation after the budget fiasco.

He has not changed the budgeting process in four years and there is a thinking that he should have been given a different role in the cabinet

Mohammed Bello (FCT Minister):

Muhammed Musa Bello is only visible on the tarmac of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,each time the President is on his way in or out of the country.

FCT residents still remember Nasir El-Rufai’sdays as Minister of the capital city with nostalgia—an indication that Bello has been a ghost Minister.

Around Abuja, no one has really felt his impact and they would wish that he steps aside

Chief Audu Ogbe

Chief Audu Ogbe if you compare him to his predecessor, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina has not done us any good.

His acclaimed revolution in agriculture has only been in the books not in reality. The elder statesman has not increased the exports of our products as he promised and even the Yam export is hindered by an Export Prohibitive Act that he should have worked with the National Assembly with to abolish.

Mallam Adamu Adamu

Mallam Adamu Adamu, the Education Minister is one of the ministers who may likely be retained in the cabinet but Nigerians are begging Mr President to resist temptation.

The Bauchi State born politician was a columnist before he joined the cabinet and has been a close associate of the President right from the Petroleum Task Fund, PTF but has failed woefully as a minster.

The public secondary and tertiary institutions have not improved under his watch. He has added nothing to the Ministry in terms of innovation.

Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu

Dr. Onu who is the current Minister of Science and Technology who has not done well.

By now with the right direction, we should be on the way to competing with the rest of the world but this Minister seem to just be marking time

Hadi Sarika

Hadi Sirika is the Minister of State for Aviation. He has received commendations for some remarkable achievements but the state of the flagship airport, Murtala Muhammed International Airport has dented his CV big time.

If he cannot upgrade the MMIA in four years he has no business in the ministry, one angry passenger told us.

DR Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour

The Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige has been one of those good men who have fallen flat. Under him, there has been too many spats with labour unions and if not for the election would have had the longest labour shutdown in recent memory.

Dr Isaac Adewole

Minister of health is one of those Ministers who has failed to live up to expectations.Just a walk to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital is enough to send him packing.

He has not done anything significant despite being a stakeholder.

Hon. Heineken Loikpobiri: Minister of State, Agriculture

Like the other ministers of State, he was just there without any achievement or ideas to affect the sector.

Featured

Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

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Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.

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DSS Nabs Man over Assassination Attempt on Peter Obi

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has detained a man in connection with the recent attack and alleged assassination threats targeting Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

According to AIT, the shooting incident took place on February 24, 2026, in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering attended by Obi and several figures from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The meeting was hosted by former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun. Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the venue, causing panic and forcing attendees to disperse for safety.

According to security sources, shortly after the attack, an individual identified as Udeme Monday Stephen allegedly took to social media claiming responsibility and issuing additional threats against Obi, warning of further violence.

Intelligence officials reportedly initiated swift investigations, employing digital tracing and forensic tools that led to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect in Rivers State. He is said to be a teacher at a private secondary school in the Eliozu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

The suspect remains in DSS custody and is expected to face prosecution. The agency reiterated its commitment to responding to credible threats and safeguarding lives and national interests without bias.