By: Umunna Kalu

The Presidency has confirmed that a cabinet reshuffle is imminent.

This is as President Tinubu has directed ministers to promote the administration’s achievements.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed this to State House Correspondents on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa.
Onanuga, who briefed along side Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, O’tega Ogra, however, did not state whether the reshuffle will occur before October 1st, but emphasised that it is expected to happen soon.

His words: “He said, “Let me tell you, I don’t have any timeline. The President has expressed his desire to reshuffle his cabinet, and he will do it.

“I don’t know whether he’s going to do it before October 1, but he will surely do it. So that’s what I will say. He has not given us any timeline when he wants to do it, but he will do it. He has expressed his plan that he wants to do it.”.
President Tinubu had last year August appointed his ministers.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu has instructed his ministers to actively promote the accomplishments of his administration.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu urged the ministers to “go out there and publicize the administration’s progress and successes”.
He noted that some ministers were hesitant to speak publicly, adding, “Many Nigerians believe the president isn’t doing much, while the government is actually making significant strides.”
Tinubu emphasised that his ministers should focus more on communicating these achievements to the public.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu had verbalised his intent to rejig his cabinet.

On his part, Ogra said the decision would not be arbitrary but will be based on performance reports presented by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman.
Bala-Usman, who also heads the Central Delivery Coordination Unit.

“The President’s decision to reshuffle his cabinet is also based on empirical evidence. You know, he had said when he was speaking at the retreat for the ministers that they were going to have periodic reviews and the decisions that are extracted from these reviews will be used to make that final decision.

“I know he has gotten a couple of reports, and as Mr. Onanuga said, when he is ready to do that, he will.”

Tinubu is facing growing calls from within the All Progressives Congress (APC) to remove underperforming ministers from his cabinet.