*Power, defense, communications ministers fear sack
*Abysmal performance cited
*Opposition, CSOs lead calls for reshuffle
As May 29 marking President Tinubu’s second year in office draws closer, many ministers have abandoned their offices to lobby the president’s men so as to remain in office as news of a possible cabinet reshuffle gains momentum, DAVID MAXWELL writes.
Since the previous cabinet reshuffle of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 23, 2024 which saw the re-assignment of 10 ministers to new portfolios, discharge of five and nomination of seven new others, Nigerians have continued to call for a broader reshuffle of the federal cabinet.
Recall that during a cabinet retreat in November 2023, Tinubu had stated that ministers would be retained based solely on quarterly performance, thereby fuelling the repeated calls by Nigerians for another reshuffle which has only happened once. At that time, the Central Results Delivery and Coordination Unit, CRDCU’s dossier was credited with informing the shake-up that led to the swapping of portfolios and resulted in the removal of two underperforming ministers after just 16 months in office. But with President Tinubu’s second anniversary in office just days away, the CRDCU, is finalising a fresh set of ministerial scorecards, presidency sources have revealed.
In June 2023, President Tinubu appointed Bala Usman, a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, as Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination. Modelled on similar delivery units in the United Kingdom and Rwanda, its mandate is to track key performance indicators, publish quarterly dashboards and flag red-line projects for presidential intervention.
On October 17, 2023, Bala-Usman announced that her unit would begin transmitting quarterly reports to the President from January 2024, as all ministries had received their budgets for the 2024 fiscal year by then. “We’re looking to commence an assessment of the respective ministries in January 2024. We’re going to have a quarterly assessment of performance, which would culminate in an annual scorecard,” the former NPA Chief explained in an interview.
At a media briefing in February 2025, she reminded ministers that “quarterly assessments will feed directly into presidential decisions,” noting that the Unit’s last report had already triggered “targeted conversations” and mid-term adjustments in at least three ministries. “If your deliverables are slipping, the data will show it,” she said then.
The CRDCU, which monitors ministerial performance quarterly, is currently verifying submitted reports and assigning scores. Ministries uploaded evidence of project and policy milestones to a secure portal last month. A verification team led by CRDCU head, Hadiza Bala-Usman has been reviewing submissions against the performance bonds signed at the October 2023 cabinet retreat. Bala-Usman is reportedly working to deliver the final report to the President shortly.
As the ongoing assessment gives life to the rumored cabinet reshuffle, AljazirahNigeria can authoritatively report that many of the serving ministers have thus abandoned their official duties in order to lobby Tinubu’s men to enable them remain in office. Sources speaking anonymously, described most ministers’ performance as average, with only a few exceeding expectations. “The Minister of Works, Health, Interior and a few others have done reasonably well. Many others fared poorly in key areas,” one insider said.
A senior presidency official confirmed that ministries uploaded deliverables via the CRDCU portal and that these were rigorously verified and scored, but the final compilation is intended solely for the President.
Recall that the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, and Labour Party, LP, have been united in critisisng the President and his ministers over allegations of poor governance.
In a media interview, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, described Tinubu and his cabinet as a “monumental failure.” Similarly, the NNPP’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, called for a cabinet reshuffle. At the same time, the LP Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, urged the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government to do more in addressing the issue of insecurity and economic hardship.
Reacting to the cost of living crisis resulting from Tinubu’s sharp economic reforms, the PDP says the performance of the ministers reflects President Tinubu’s leadership. “You can’t give what you don’t have. This government is a monumental failure; we can’t just talk about the ministers. They have failed in all aspects. The primary responsibility of every government is the security and welfare of the people, and with the killings and hardship, it is obvious that this government has failed.
“That’s why you see them now going into more of a panic mode of constantly governing by propaganda and lies. The one that is more pervasive is the issue of insecurity. There is no part of this country that’s immune to this cancer of insecurity,” Ologunagba emphasised, arguing that the government has failed in every aspect.
Similarly, NNPP Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, stated that it is time for President Tinubu to restructure his cabinet, expressing concern that Nigeria cannot continue operating at its present pace. “It is time for President Tinubu to rejig his cabinet. We cannot continue at this level and pace and hope that things will be different. But, by May 29, our party, the NNPP, will come up with a comprehensive mid-term assessment of this administration.”
The LP scribe also urged the President to remove ministers who are not performing in their positions.
Obiora Ifoh stated, “The President should deal with those who are not performing. If he finds that some are not living up to expectations, then of course, he should relieve such persons of their appointments. So, the buck stops on the President’s desk. We want a government that will focus more on security, economic development, and the overall well-being of Nigerians.”
Likewise, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, cislac, Auwal Rafsanjani, stated that while some ministers were determined to fulfil their assigned tasks, others appear to be focused on ensuring the President’s re-election in 2027, and some were largely invisible in the government.
“I would say that some of the ministers appear to be determined to meet up with their assignments, their responsibilities, whereas the majority of the ministers are just sitting there because the mood of the nation, of recent, is not about governance, it is about the election. Therefore, many ministers are just working hard to impress and show the President that they are working for his second term, not necessarily as ministers,” said Rafsanjani.
He called for the public dissemination of the CRDCU’s report, saying, “Mr President has someone who is supposed to be evaluating the ministers in person of Hadiza Bala-Usman. The public did not hear or receive any report from her concerning the evaluation of ministers’ performance.
“Therefore, there is no willingness by the government to demonstrate how well some ministers are performing and meeting their responsibilities. In terms of real work that you can see a minister working, there are very few of them that you can pass that remark on.”
He continued, “The second issue is that some of the ministers, even before this campaign mood, appear to be on a low profile. Nigerians are not hearing much of them, or much about what they are doing. This is simply because some of the ministers were brought in to fulfil the political obligation of Mr President to put his guys there, and then be able to meet up with the constitutional provision of every state having one minister.”
“With the general perception of underperformance on the part of the current administration, with many ministers not performing optimally, there is this growing demand for a cabinet reshuffle across board. I think for Mr President to get the support of the masses, he must listen to these cries and sack those ministers that are giving the opposition grounds to score his administration. He should remember that he is interested a second term in office and the opposition is growing. So he must as matter of urgency take immediate action to let Nigerians know that he is the best candidate come 2027,” Shuna Fakum, a public affairs analyst told this medium.
Speaking to AljazirahNigeria Newspapers, one source said: “I can tell you for certain that only a few of the ministers have performed excellently, while majority performed averagely. But there are a few like the Power, Housing, Communications, Defense ministers who have obviously performed rather poorly and as such are afraid of being showed the exit. If they had taken the president’s warning seriously, they would have performed better and wouldn’t be currently running from pillar to post, lobbying people they know that have the President’s ear in the cabinet.”
Another presidency source said: “I don’t know why those who have not been performing well are running up and down to see how they can be retained, when they are aware that it is only their performance that can save them. You can see that the opposition is united in painting this administration in bad light, saying it has underperformed. So one thing I can tell you for sure is that there shall be a reshuffle which will most likely be announced soon because Mr President does not want any of his cabinet members to reduce his chances of re-election come 2027.”
