ABUJA, Nigeria
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has reshuffled his 45-member cabinet, naming seven new ministers, sacking five and reassigning 10 others to new portfolios, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The ministers of finance,
defence, national planning and two junior energy ministers all retained their
positions.
The reshuffle includes
renaming the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional
Development, the winding up of the Ministry of Sports, and the merger of the
ministries of tourism and arts and culture.
Tinubu’s lightning reform push
after taking office last year had sparked hope that his administration would be
an antidote to mounting economic troubles facing Africa’s top energy producer.
But 16 months on, the key
planks of his economic overhaul – devaluing the naira and slashing petrol and
electricity subsidies – have sent inflation soaring to 32.70%, triggering a
cost-of-living crisis.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo
Onanuga said in the reshuffle, Tinubu appointed new ministers for humanitarian
and poverty reduction, trade and investment, labour, livestock development and
junior ministers for foreign affairs, education and housing.
The ministers for education,
tourism, women affairs, youth development and the junior housing minister were
sacked, Onanuga said.
Tinubu’s cabinet remains
bigger than that of his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari, who had 43 ministers in
his second term in office, despite calls by critics to streamline government
bureaucracy and trim costs. Under the law, the president must include a member
from each of the country’s 36 states.
Tinubu has yet to appoint his
main petroleum minister, though he has two junior ministers in place.
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