A former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has advised President Bola Tinubu against trusting some of his closest advisors when it comes to recommending individuals for ministerial positions, particularly as he prepares for a cabinet reshuffle.
Shittu shared his insights during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
He highlighted that some members of the President’s kitchen cabinet, who should ideally seek out technocrats for ministerial roles, have their own vested interests and may only suggest candidates who align with their personal agendas.
“You cannot trust anybody, even if you are talking of kitchen cabinet,” Shittu remarked, noting that some current cabinet members have not met expectations.
He elaborated, “This will be the first time he (Tinubu) would be recruiting people from all parts of the country most of whom he may never have met in life.
But he may just be riding on the recommendation, perhaps, of interested power blocs within the party who would give information and sell their candidate for one reason or the other.”
Shittu emphasized, “Mr President has an opportunity to decide what he wants. If you are not there and if he does not tell you exactly what he wants, it would be very difficult but I think one failing in our system in this country is that when people are appointed, or about to be appointed, we don’t have a kind of orientation exercise which perhaps will take a week or two weeks to school those to be given jobs to understand the priorities of their employer.”
Since taking office, Tinubu has appointed 48 ministers as of August 2023, shortly after his inauguration.
The Senate quickly screened and confirmed these ministers. However, one minister, Betta Edu, faced suspension in January, while another, Simon Lalong, transitioned to the Senate.
Calls for a cabinet reshuffle have intensified, with many Nigerians expressing dissatisfaction over the performance of several ministers amid rising inflation, a challenging economic landscape, and increasing insecurity.
This week, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga indicated that the President would indeed be reshuffling his cabinet but did not specify a timeline for this reorganization.
