Much ado about Tinubu’s ministers: The sacked, the reassigned, and the new (women) appointees

President Bola Tinubu has sacked six ministers, reassigned ten ministers and appointed seven new ministers to his cabinet in a major restructuring aimed at improving government operations.

The reshuffling of ministers was announced in a statement issued by the presidency following the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday. The statement read, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved the immediate implementation of eight far-reaching actions to reinvigorate the administration’s capacity for optimal efficiency, pursuant to his commitment to deliver on his promises to Nigerians.”

Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, while Jumoke Oduwole was appointed Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment.

The President appreciated the outgoing members of the Federal Executive Council for their service to the nation while wishing them the best in their future endeavours. He then charged the newly appointed ministers as well as their reassigned colleagues to see their appointment as a call to serve the nation.

The discharged ministers

The Ministers that were sacked from the cabinet are;

Betta Edu

Betta Edu, via Facebook

Designation — Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction

Prof. Tahir Mamman

Prof. Tahir Mamman, via X (formerly Twitter)

Designation— Minister of Education 

Mohammad Gwarzo 

Mohammad Gwarzo, via FMINO

Designation— Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development

Jamila Ibrahim 

Jamila Ibrahim, via Nairametrics

Designation— Minister of Youth Development

Lola Ade-John

Lola Ade-John, via Instagram

Designation — Minister of Tourism

Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, the subject of many controversies.

Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, via X (formerly Twitter)

Designation— Minister of Women Affairs

The reassigned ministers

The Ministers that were reassigned to other designations in the cabinet are;

Hon Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu 

Hon Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, via X (formerly Twitter)

Current designation— Minister of State, Education

New Designation— Minister of State Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction

Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa

Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa, via EkoHotBlog

Current Designation—Minister State, Health

New Designation— Minister of Education

Barr. Bello Muhammad Goronyo

Barr. Bello Muhammad Goronyo, via HotPen

Current Designation—Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation

New Designation— Minister of State Works

Hon. Abubakar Eshiokpekha Momoh

Hon. Abubakar Eshiokpekha Momoh, via Current Affairs Nigeria

Current Designation— Minister of Niger Delta Development

New Designation— Minister of Regional Development

Uba Maigari Ahmadu

Uba Maigari Ahmadu, via Current Affairs Nigeria

Current Designation—Minister of State Steel Development

New Designation— Minister of State Regional Development

Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite

Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, via Peoples Gazette

Current Designation—Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment

New Designation— Minister of State Finance

Sen. John Owan Enoh

Sen. John Owan Enoh, via TheCable

Current Designation— Minister of Sports Development

New Designation— Minister of State Trade and Investment Industry

Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim

Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, via Current Affairs Nigeria

Current Designation— Minister of State, Police Affairs

New Designation— Minister of Women Affairs

Ayodele Olawande

Ayodele Olawande, via National Accord Newspaper

Current Designation—Minister of State for Youth Development

New Designation— Minister for Youth Development

Dr. Salako Iziaq Adekunle Adeboye

Dr. Salako Iziaq Adekunle Adeboye, via X (formerly Twitter)

Current Designation Minister of State, Environment Minister of State, Health

New Designation— Minister of State, Health

The new appointees

The newly appointed Ministers are;

Dr Nentawe Vilwatda

Dr Nentawe Vilwatda, via The Nation Newspaper

Designation — Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction

Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi

Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, via Daily Trust

Designation— Minister of Labour & Employment

Idi Mukhtar Maiha

Idi Mukhtar Maiha, via Facebook

Designation— Federal Ministry of Livestock Development

Rt. Hon. Yusuf Abdullahi Ata

Rt. Hon. Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, via Blueprint Newspaper

Designation— Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development

Suwaiba Said Ahmad PhD

Suwaiba Said Ahmad PhD, via LinkedIn

Designation— Minister of State Education

Bianca Odinaka Odumegu-Ojukwu

Designation— Minister of State Foreign Affair

Dr Jumoke Oduwole

Designation— Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment

The new women appointees making the news

So far, two new female ministers have got everyone’s tongues wagging, but who are they?

Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu

Newly appointed Minister of State Foreign Affair, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, via Daily Post

Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is an accomplished diplomat, lawyer, businesswoman and beauty pageant titleholder.

Following her graduation, from Buckingham University where she combined honours degree in Politics, Economics and Law Odumegwu-Ojukwu attended the Nigerian Law School which eventually led to her call to the bar.

From the early 1990s till date, Bianca’s name has become synonymous with beauty. A multiple international pageant titleholder, Bianca emerged as the winner of Miss Martini in 1987 and the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria in 1988.

She reigned through most of 1989, mainly when she emerged as Miss Africa 1989 at the pageant held in The Gambia.

In the same year, she achieved success when she won Miss Intercontinental and was named Miss Congeniality at the now-defunct Miss Charm International in Russia, making history as the first Nigerian and African to win Miss The Intercontinental pageant.

Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, via Facebook

Shortly after her husband’s death in 2011, she got diplomatic appointments that brought her to the forefront of politics. Bianca, widow of the late Biafra leader Odumegwu Ojukwu, was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

In 2012, she became Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ghana and later served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain. In 2016, Odumegwu-Ojukwu received a master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Alfonso X el Sabio University in Spain.

On October 17, 2014, she was honoured with the prestigious award of African Most Outstanding Ambassador in the Diaspora 2014 in the Netherlands by the Voice of Achievers and became Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

Apart from her diplomatic endeavours, Bianca is a successful businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the Managing Director of Bianca Blend Products Ltd., a cosmetics company, her interior decorating outfit Mirabella, and has founded several charitable organisations, including Hope House Trust, which focuses on rehabilitating juvenile offenders.

Dr Jumoke Oduwole

Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, via Instagram

Dr. Jumoke Oduwole is an academic, advisor, and speaker. Until she was nominated Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Oduwole served as Tinubu’s Special Adviser to the President on PEBEC & Investment from August 2019 to May 2023.

Before her appointment as Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Ease of Doing Business in the Office of the Vice President, Oduwole has served in different capacities in the corporate world, both nationally and globally.

Oduwole is a past co-president of the Stanford Alumni Club of Nigeria and was a member of the executive committee of the Oxford and Cambridge (Oxbridge) Club of Nigeria. In addition, she was a visiting scholar at the University of Houston Law Center, Houston, Texas USA from 2008 to 2010 and obtained her doctorate in International Trade and Development (WTO Negotiation Strategy) from Stanford Law School.

She also served on the Technical Working Group of the Presidential Committee for the Impact and Readiness Assessment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) (Sub-Committee on Ease of Doing Business) and is currently represented on Nigeria’s AfCFTA Implementation National Action Committee (NAC).

In 2013, Oduwole was appointed as the 2013-2015 Prince Claus Chair holder, a Visiting Professorship of Development and Equity in honor of the late Prince Claus of The Netherlands by the Curatorium then chaired by H.M. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.

Newly appointed Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, via Instagram

In April 2015 she convened an inaugural Prince Claus Chair Roundtable in Lagos, Nigeria on the sidelines of the 3rd Biennial African International Economic Law Network hosted by the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos; she also convened a second Roundtable in the Hague in the same year.

Oduwole was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade & Investment (OVP) from November 2015 to May 2019 during which she worked to form the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) before she was appointed Tinubu’s Special Adviser to the President on PEBEC & Investment from August 2019 to May 2023.

She is currently on a leave of absence from the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria, where she is a Senior Lecturer.

The public’s reactions

While Dr Jumoke Oduwole’s appointment as Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment has been widely accepted because of her portfolio, there have been mixed reactions to Bianca Ojukwu’s appointment as Minister of State Foreign Affairs.

 

Nigerian X user shares view on Bianca’s appointment, via X (formerly Twitter)
Nigerian X user shares view on Bianca’s appointment, via X (formerly Twitter)

 

Nigerian X user shares view on Bianca’s appointment, via X (formerly Twitter)

Despite Bianca’s ambassadorial records, a few Nigerians have raised concerns about Bianca’s appointment as a ploy by the federal government to garner public support in the East for the 2027 elections.

It is imperative to note that despite public sentiments, these women have displayed excellence in their respective fields and are poised to translate their experience into results in their new designations.

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