THERE are strong indications that President Bola Tinubu may scrap the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation as part of a major cabinet rejig.
The exercise would also see some portfolios split and others merged into a single entity, while some ministers would be relieved of their duties, a Presidency source told this newspaper.
Tinubu has been facing increasing pressure from within and outside his party, the All Progressives Congress, to sack underperforming ministers in his cabinet.
Although the President had warned against underperformance about 10 months ago, the cabinet had remained largely intact, save for the suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu.
Last November, after a three-day retreat for cabinet members and presidential aides, Tinubu announced that a Central Delivery Coordination Unit headed by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Mrs. Hadiza Bala-Usman, would measure the performance of ministers and other top government officials.
Their performance would determine who would leave or remain, Tinubu stated.
“If you are performing, nothing to fear. If you miss the objective, we’ll review it. If no performance, you leave us. No one is an island and the buck stops on my desk,” the President told participants.
In early September, this newspaper reported that a cabinet reshuffle was imminent.
However, sources in the Presidency who confided in our correspondent said the reshuffle would transcend portfolio swaps. Instead, some portfolios and ministries would be split, merged or scrapped.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the matter, said the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, whose helmswoman, Dr. Betta Edu, was suspended in January, would be scrapped entirely. Nonetheless, the officials were reluctant to disclose which other ministries would be affected.
“I think it is overdue now. In fact, he (Tinubu) was supposed to announce the changes last week, but he was out of the country; that was why. But he wants to do it while he is around.
“It is not just about reshuffling his cabinet. He is also going to restructure some of the ministries for effectiveness and output because the current structure in some of them is not effective.
“Just to let you know, he may be scrapping the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs because he does not think there is a need for it. There are several agencies that are performing those functions already and they can do it without a ministry. So, he sees no need for it,” the source said.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development was established in August 2019 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
On the timing of the reshuffle, another source disclosed that the President planned to finalise it before departing for New York, USA to participate in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
“Soon, I can say it will happen soon. The arrangement is that he is supposed to do it before leaving for the UNGA this week. And I see nothing hindering that for now.
“It is confirmed. There is a particular portfolio that has to be split into two. Others will be merged, and some will be scrapped. That is what I know,” the source said.
Meanwhile, a third source confirmed that some frantic lobbying had begun as some cabinet members had been contacting their godfathers to prevail on the President in their favour.
“Yes, that is a typical thing. Some of the ministers will be calling their godfathers to influence the President. It is a normal thing. But the President will still do what is on his mind for the country.”