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President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, swore in seven new ministers into his cabinet at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.
This followed their confirmation by the Senate on October 31 after a screening exercise.
The new cabinet members took the oath of office in batches of four and three after their citations were read by the State House Director of Information and Public Relations, Mr Abiodun Oladunjoye.
The first four included Idi Maiha (Minister of Livestock Development); Yusuf Ata (State, Housing and Urban Development); Dr Suwaiba Ahmad (State, Education) and Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu (State, Foreign Affairs).
Afterwards, Dr Jumoke Oduwole (Industry, Trade and Investment), Dr Nentawe Yilwatda (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 re-assignment of 10 ministers to new ministerial portfolios, discharged five others and nominated seven new ministers for onward transmission to the Senate for confirmation.
In his address, the President urged the new cabinet members to remain focused amidst fierce criticism as they serve the country at a critical time.
He noted, “The moment is challenging; the present situation requires a very serious commitment. I really appreciate the fact that you have taken the oath of office and are ready to serve your nation at a time when we are facing the challenges of economic growth and other items like security challenges and others.
“You will be part of criticism and abuse. Don’t worry; stay focused and stay resilient. Your thanks will come with the history of growth and prosperity for this country.”
While congratulating the new ministers, Tinubu thanked the National Assembly for conducting the screening “diligently and expeditiously.”
“You are called upon to join the team to rescue this country. Again, I congratulate the newly sworn-in seven ministers, and I thank you for accepting to serve this nation,” he said.
Tinubu also noted that Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio dropped from around 97 per cent when he assumed office 17 months ago to 65 per cent today.
“For us, it was a challenge when the nation serviced its debt with 97 per cent of its revenue. It’s nothing but the end of the cliff.
“But today, I can report to you that we brought that one down, and it is at 65 per cent, and we have never defaulted in paying or meeting all obligations, both foreign and domestic.
“We have our heads above the water. All other countries around us and across the world are facing challenges, too.”
His comments come months after Afreximbank, Africa’s leading export-import bank, predicted that Nigeria’s debt service to revenue ratio might hit 110.4 per cent in 2024.
“The debt service to revenue ratio has increased significantly, from 33.8 per cent in 2017 to a projected 110.4 per cent in 2024, signalling potential difficulties in meeting debt servicing obligations relative to revenue generation,” Afreximbank said in its ‘Nigeria Country Brief 2024’ in July.
This brief analysed Nigeria’s economic performance, trade dynamics, fiscal policies, and financial sector developments.
It revealed that Nigeria’s debt servicing bill took 66.9 per cent (N5.79tn) of the total revenue of N8.65tn in the first nine months, lower than 99.3 per cent (N4.23tn) in the same period of 2022.
However, it said the figure may drop to 62.6 per cent in 2025 due to continuous structural reforms and fiscal management by the government.
In his national broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 64th Independence Anniversary, the President boasted that his administration reduced the debt service ratio from 97 to 68 per cent.
However, the CBN data shows that the ratio had worsened to 162 per cent in the first six months of 2024.
But speaking on Monday, Tinubu promised economic recovery, saying the country is on a “good path” despite the cost-of-living crisis triggered by months of hardline economic reforms.
He explained, “We have taken the bull by the horns. We have stopped the scavengers. We are going to completely stop the profiteers and smugglers of our resources across the country.
“We are not going to run away from our responsibility; we are going to face it, and we have been facing it head-on.
“Economic recovery is on the horizon. We have a good path to achieving our dreams, and it is not just for us; it is for our children and grandchildren.”
He added, “Despite the challenges, we must face the job of re-engineering and retooling the economic path of this country.
“Yes, the cost of living has gone up. I recognise that. We have satisfied the obligation of paying a new minimum wage across the board…we are navigating through this and working hard.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said rejigging the cabinet was necessary to provide renewed direction for the administration.
“With this rejigging, we have new people on board who will also support the government’s effort to ensure the momentum is not lost.
“It’s like a plane that has taken off. Yes, we need to refuel somewhere, and that is the essence of this.
“We are very confident that the new persons who have been added to this team will go along with us to ensure that we move in a very meaningful and purposeful manner,” said Akume.
The President’s Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, advised cabinet members to remain focused and unyielding to distractions.
In a chat with State House Correspondents after the swearing-in ceremony, he said, “Stay focused and keep your eyes on the ball. There’s going to be distractions. There’s going to be governance mixed with politics.
“But I believe in these new ministers. We all heard and read their citations. They come with a very rich pedigree, and they’ve been fixed in ministries that are actually almost tailored to their experiences, both professionally and in life generally.
“So, like I said, there will be lots of distractions that are to be expected in any country. I’m not just talking about Nigeria here, but once they remain focused, put their heads down and their hands on the plough and do what needs to be done.”
Meanwhile, the new ministers pledged to align and build on the existing frameworks in their respective ministries to deliver the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, promised to advance the core principles of strengthening democracy and bolstering development, demography and diaspora affairs.
Ojukwu said Tinubu’s administration intended to leverage the creative potential and massive capital skills of the growing population of Nigerian youths within and outside the country.
“We intend in this administration to leverage the creative potential, the skills of the vast capital these young people have to bring to the country, and of course, the diaspora.
“I am fully committed to keying into the foreign policy thrust of this government. The President has made things much easier by building the foreign policy thrust of his administration. The 4Ds comprise democracy, strengthening democratic institutions all over Africa.”
Citing Nigeria’s Diaspora remittance of $22m annually, she said integrating the government’s economic initiatives with the Nigerian diaspora will enhance the service delivery of the Nigerian government.
“We have a diaspora that remits annually $22bn, we have a diaspora that is doing so well all over the world, and if we can partner with them and ensure that we bring them into the administration’s initiatives and use them also to forge strategic partnerships with financial institutions all over the world, that will in no small way enhance the workings on the service delivery for the Foreign Minister,” she said.
The Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, stressed the need to boost the AfCFTA for Nigerian businesses and ensure that both domestic and foreign investments are retained.
“The most important thing with the trade agreement is to make sure that we go after optimising the AfCFTA for Nigerian businesses, which means pragmatically supporting them at this time to export their products. We need productive jobs that deliver value for Nigerians,” she stressed.
She also highlighted the importance of aligning trade agendas with monetary and fiscal policies, saying, “This is significant and imperative; we will prioritise these in the short term.”
“It’s really important that we retain domestic investment and aggressively attract new investment.
“That means tracking all the investments Mr President, as chief investment officer of this economy, has gone after in the last 17 months and making sure that the businesses we’ve already started engaging with our peerless business champions, the businesses at the higher level and the medium level and at the micro level, that each of them at those specific cadres is optimised to make it progressively easier,” Oduwole added.
The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, said he would focus on data mining to improve livestock infrastructure, including grazing reserves and water sources, to enhance herder retention and attract foreign investment.
He also emphasised integrating all farmable animals to ensure food security and a safe operating environment.
Maiha promised to develop a comprehensive approach to the livestock sector, including large ruminants, small ruminants, pigs, poultry and other farmable animals, to ensure food and nutrition security, a safe operating environment for stakeholders and attract foreign direct investment.
