A Source in the Presidency, has revealed that President Muhamamdu Buhari, has concluded plans to reshuffle his cabinet by early next year in order to pave way for good governance.
According him, most of the ministers may not be sacked but re-deployed for effective performance.
The disclosure came on Saturday, November 12, exactly one year Buhari inaugurated his cabinet.
However, a year after the appointment and swearing in of the cabinet, there have been calls for the sack of some of the ministers and a cabinet shakeup in the face of daunting economic challenges.
Some of the Ministers who may be re-deployed include:
1. Babatunde Fashola- Works, Power and Housing
The power challenges continue, with Nigerians depending more on alternative energy, especially generators to power both their homes and businesses. This has no doubt contributed immensely to the high cost of goods and services in the country.
For the works sector, Minister Fashola seems to be lagging behind, as the state of roads in the country; especially inter-State roads are nothing to write home about.
Aside the Lagos Ibadan Express Road, which was kicked off by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, there is hardly any federal road in the country where serious repair or reconstruction work is going on.
This has led to massive loss of man hours as both public transport service and private vehicles waste several hours on the road because of bad and hardly motorable roads.
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For the housing sector, it is best assumed that the ministry and Fashola are still on the drawing board. This much came to light months ago when the minister said the ministry is trying to come up with a national housing model that will deliver affordable housing to many Nigerians.
2. Rotimi Amaechi-Transportation
Under Amaechi, the transportation sector cannot be said to have achieved so much, as the only significant events that have taken place are the inauguration of the Port Harcourt -Enugu rail service and the Abuja -Kaduna standard Guage rail line.
However, both projects bear the imprints of the Jonathan administration.
There is hope however, with the inclusion of the Lagos -Kano and the Lagos -Calabar rail lines in the 2016 budget.
3. Kemi Amosun-Finance
Adeosun’s place in the Buhari’s cabinet is not enviable at the moment, especially with the current economic downturn in the country, with allegations of incompetence and a lack of any sound economic plan and policy trailing her efforts.
The naira has also continually witnessed a free fall against major foreign currencies, probably the worst in the history of the country.
The fall of the naira has also had spill over effect on the price of commodities and the continual closure of companies, especially manufacturing concerns over the non-availability of Forex for the procurement of vital raw materials and machinery.
4. Audu Ogbeh-Agriculture
One of the major promises the Buhari administration made to Nigerians is the diversification of the economy, especially through agriculture to stave off the effect of the declining price of crude oil in the international market.
Though, the current Minister of Agriculture, is seen by many as an experienced hand, having held the same portfolio in the Second Republic, his performance so far has left many Nigerians wondering what went amiss.
Nigerians were aghast when Chief Ogbeh informed them that the Federal Government would import special grass from Brazil, as a way out of the constant faceoff between rampaging Fulani herdsmen and farmers imparts of the country. He was also quoted to have said that the price of rice, a staple food in the country, is high because Nigerians eat too much of it.
To crown the frustration of Nigerians, the prices of food items have hit the roof while farmers, who before now got farm inputs, especially fertilizers with so much ease, are not happy with the present situation.
5. Geoffrey Onyeama- Foreign Affairs
The reign of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama has not been as eventful as largely expected, due to the lack of a defined foreign affairs policy by the Buhari administration just like in the economic front.
The Buhari administration made a major goof, when against popular expectations; the executive arm of government unilaterally enlisted the country in the Saudi Arabia led Islamic coalition against terrorism. This is despite the fact that Nigeria is a secular state whose constitution is against such.
To the discredit of the minister is his open endorsement of the Democratic Party candidate in the just concluded US presidential election, Hilary Clinton. Diplomatically, it was viewed as a major goof.
Even more disheartening is Onyeama’s clarification that his endorsement on behalf of the Federal Government was based on polls conducted by the media and other public opinion agencies before the election that eventually went the way of Donald Trump.
6. Chris Ngige -Labour and Employment
Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment has been having a running battle with employers in the country, especially in the banking sector.
The minister came under intense criticism when he declared that the federal government may sanction banks that sack their workers, including the withdrawal of their licences.
For many, this was tactically wrong on the part of the minister, who should have been in the forefront of promoting employment and encouraging employers to keep their workforce in the face of recession.
The minister has also been unable to match action with the promise of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to massively create jobs for Nigerians. Instead, millions of Nigerians have lost their jobs, increasing the nation’s unemployment rate and poverty in the land.
7. Udoma Udo Udoma-Budget and Planning
The year 2016 will be remembered for the furore that greeted the passing of the 2016 federal budget.
From the inability of the executive arm of government to send the year’s budget to the National Assembly, to its withdrawal due to discrepancies noticed in the document, and allegations of budget padding by ministries, departments and agencies, to revelations at the House of Representatives, the Minister of Budget and Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, has had an uneventful first year in office.
Udoma has also had his fair share of blame for the inability of the Buhari administration to come out with a workable economic plan that will steer the nation out of recession into recovery.
However, the minister, apparently noticing the displeasure of Nigerians with the state of things, recently announced that the federal government is to assemble economic experts to help review its economic plan that will be published in December.
As the Buhari cabinet marks one year in office, the general consensus among analysts is that the country is no better, as the team seems to be still learning the ropes, and wobbling along, with no clearly defined objective or work plan as it is.
This is seen in the fact that most sectors are in a worse state than what was inherited from the previous administration.
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