IN apparent response to criticisms of over-bloated cabinet size by some Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu has said he is unprepared to reduce his cabinet size.
“I am not ready to shrink the size of my cabinet”, the President said during a media chat at his Bourdillon residence in the highbrow Ikoyi area of Lagos State on Monday, December 23.
He argued that efficiency had been at the core of his selection of ministers.
Tinubu also said he had no regret in removing the petrol subsidy in May 2023, adding that Nigeria could not continue to be Father Christmas to neighbouring West African countries.
“I don’t have any regrets whatsoever in removing petrol subsidy. We are spending our future, we were just deceiving ourselves, that reform was necessary,” he told journalists during the chat.
Recall that Tinubu appointed 48 ministers in August 2023, three months after his inauguration. The Senate immediately screened and confirmed the ministers.
One of the ministers, Betta Edu, was suspended in January 2024 while another, Simon Lalong, moved to the Senate.
There were calls for the President to reshuffle his cabinet as many Nigerians have not been impressed by the performance of some of the ministers, especially in the face of unprecedented inflation, excruciating economic situation and insecurity.
In October 2024, Tinubu re-assigned 10 ministers to new portfolios and appointed seven new ones for Senate confirmation.
He also sacked five of his ministers but critics insist that the cabinet remained large, especially with the creation of a Livestock Ministry with a minister.
Despite calls for a review of the size of government, Tinubu said he was more concerned about the efficiency of his team than reducing its numbers.
The ICIR in August reported that the chief of staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the implementation of the Oronsaye’s report would not be immediate as the government had promised.
The Oronsanye’s report seeks to enforce fiscal discipline in federal government’s institutions by merging ministries, agencies and departments with similar mandates while also downsizing others where necessary as recommended in its 2012 report.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.