According to Onanuga, the sack of the ministers was based on their performance scorecard by the Nigerian public.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga has explained the dismissal of five Ministers from the federal Executive Council (FEC) by the president on Wednesday.
According to Onanuga, the sack of the ministers was based on their performance scorecard by the Nigerian public. Onanuga made the disclosure in an interview with Arise TV on Thursday, October 24.
He also stated the role the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, in the ministers’ dismissal from the cabinet.
The aide recalled that the President’s Special Adviser on Policy, Hadiza Bala Usman, was tasked with overseeing the performance appraisal, which included collecting public feedback on the ministers.
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Tinubu on Wednesday relieved Uju-Ken Ohanenye, former Minister of Women Affairs, Lola Ade-John, his counterparts ministry of Tourism, Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN) who headed the Education ministry, Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development and Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim, previously the Minister of Youth Development of their portfolios.
The president’s action climaxed weeks of speculation and the imminent rejig that heightened after his return from France at the end of his vacation.
Onanuga added the overall revamp of the cabinet was a significant undertaking and part of the President’s plan since the Ministers were sworn in last year.
Onanuga said: “He (the President) told them that he has the power to hire and fire, and that he would not hesitate to remove ministers who could not perform.
“He also mentioned that there’ll be a performance appraisal which he said Hadiza Bala Usman, his Special Adviser on Policy should lead.
“Hadiza brought technology to the task, asking Nigerians to score the ministers.
“So, whomever was removed out of the Ministers was removed based on empirical facts. The public perception of those Ministers, and they are the people who actually did the scorecard. The President only acted on the result, that is the public perception of those ministers, that’s what happened.”
Tinubu on Wednesday, October 23, reshuffled his cabinet, sacking about five Ministers, reassigning 10 and appointing seven new Minister-designates.