3 weeks ago
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The ruling All Progressives Congress has berated the opposition parties in the country for criticising President Bola Tinubu’s recent cabinet reshuffle.
The National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH.
While emphasising that Tinubu deserved commendation for having the courage to take the bold decision to rejig his cabinet, Ibrahim stated that the party was aware majority of those attacking the President were lobbyists venting their frustration.
Reactions had trailed the President’s scrapping of ministries and sacking of some ministers, with the opposition describing it as a distraction to cover his administration’s inadequacy and incompetence.
The PUNCH reported that Tinubu, on Wednesday, discharged five ministers, appointed seven and changed the designations of 10 others.
The appointments were announced in a statement issued by the Presidency after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.
The discharged ministers were Uju-Ken Ohanenye (Women Affairs); Lola Ade-John (Tourism); Prof Tahir Mamman (Education); Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo (State, Housing and Urban Development) and Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Youth Development).
The ministers with new designations are Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, Tunji Alausa, John Owan Enoh, and others.
But the opposition kicked, describing the cabinet reshuffle as a waste of time that would further eat into taxpayers’ money.
The Deputy National Youth Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, Timothy Osadolor, described the move as a domestic arrangement deployed to distract the hungry masses.
The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Shehu Gabam, said the government was paying lip service to Nigerians’ call for improvement.
Gabam added that for such a clueless administration to be taken seriously, 75 per cent of the appointees must give way for competent hands.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, raised concerns about the consistent failure of Tinubu’s administration to address pressing issues that affected the welfare of the masses.
According to him, subsuming, scrapping ministries and appointing new ministers were not the solutions.
The new National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Sylvester Ezeokenwa, also warned that this was not the time for the government to experiment.
While admitting that cabinet rejigging is a normal routine, Ezeokenwa asked the President to cut down on the cost of governance in the country.
Reacting to the criticisms, Bala insisted that the opposition was envious of the changes the President made because their lobbying and invitations had been snubbed.
He said, “I think the opposition is being economical with the truth. Their pessimism is just because they have been lobbying and the president didn’t accept their invitation.
“They were expecting that more of them would join the cabinet just like the man in the Federal Capital Territory. Unfortunately, they don’t share in the aspirations of the party and the President, hence the reason they have not been invited to join the government.
“They are not being sincere with what they are saying. Changes in the cabinet are normal. In any administration, you can have a cabinet reshuffle.
“Also, for a party like the PDP in particular, which was known for arbitrary and irregular changes, you will observe we have a semblance of stability during Buhari’s era.
“All through his eight years, I think there was only one minor change and since the coming of President Bola Tinubu, he made it very clear that ministers and appointees are going to be monitored. Everyone will be given a key performance indicator with which he will be viewed.
“The whole idea is to reduce the duplication of responsibilities and, at the same time, cut the cost of governance as the President mentioned.
“I think we should clap for the President for having the courage to call a spade a spade and try to put a round peg in a round hole.”
