Tinubu briefed ministers before firing them, says Bayo Onanuga
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Presidential spokesman, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, on Sunday, disclosed that the affected ministers in the recent cabinet shake-up were politely addressed by President Bola Tinubu at a private meeting before their dismissal.
Mr. Onanuga disclosed this on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
President Tinubu had, on Wednesday, discharged five ministers and changed the designations of 10 other ministers.
The appointments were announced in a statement issued by the presidency after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.
The discharged ministers were Minister of Women Affairs, Uju-Ken Ohanenye; Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John; Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN); Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo; and Mchange of Youth Development, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim.
But Mr. Onanuga insisted that their dismissal was a fallout of the scorecard presented by the Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza (Usman), based on a key performance indicator.
The Presidential spokesman also noted that they were politely briefed about his decision before the news was made public.
Said he, “The president did not just changed his ministers whimsically. The change went through some procedure. From October last year when we had a retreat, the president told the ministers that they would be assessed. Hadiza Usman, the Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, was out in charge.
“She also didn’t do it whimsically. She set up the use of technology, asking citizens of Nigeria to actually score the ministers. To assess this process, I think some data were gotten from what people were saying and the scoring that the Nigerians themselves made. It was on that basis that the president acted upon.
“Some people said (they were) sacked. But the president used a milder word – discharged. When he asked them to go on Wednesday, He was very polite and told them about his decision. He thanked them for their services to the country and wished them well. That was unlike what we are used to before, people just being sacked on radio or television,” Mr. Onanuga said.
