PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu maintained the trend of rewarding his All Progressives Congress (APC) loyalists who lost elections with ministerial positions following a recent cabinet reshuffle during a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
On October 23, 2024, President Tinubu announced a significant cabinet reshuffle. He sacked five ministers and reassigned ten others to different portfolios. He also appointed seven new ministers, who have been confirmed by the Senate and sworn into office.
Those sacked are: Uju-Ken Ohanenye as minister of women affairs; Lola Ade-John as minister of tourism; Tahir Mamman as minister of education; Abdullahi Gwarzo as minister of State, housing and urban development; and Jamila Ibrahim as minister of youth development.
He replaced them with Maigari Dingyadi as the minister of labour and employment, Jumoke Oduwole as the minister of industry, Idi Maiha as minister for the newly created livestock development ministry, Yusuf Ata as the minister of state, housing and urban development, with Suwaiba Ahmad as minister of state education.
Tinubu appointed Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu as the minister of state foreign affairs, and Nentawe Yilwatda as the minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty reduction; thereby bringing an end to the tenure of suspended Betta Edu.
Yilwatda is the APC gubernatorial candidate in Plateau State in 2023, who lost to Caleb Muftwang of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty reduction.
A chieftain of the APC, he was born on August 8, 1968, in Dungung, Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State to the family of the late Toma Yilwatda.
The current governor of the state, Caleb Muftwang polled 525,299 votes to defeat his closest rival and Yilwatda, who polled 481,370 votes in the keenly contested election.
Below is a detailed look at other figures who were appointed ministers after losing elections:
Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of marine and blue economy
Adegboyega Oyetola served as governor of Osun State between 2018 and 2022. He ran for re-election as the candidate of the APC in 2022 but was defeated by Ademola Adeleke of the PDP. Born on September 29, 1954, in Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State, Oyetola completed his secondary education at Ifeoluwa Grammar School, Osogbo, in 1972.
He became the third governor in Osun State since 2003 to lose a re-election bid, following the emergence of Olagunsoye Oyinlola, whose victory was voided by the court three years after he was sworn in for a second term. Despite his electoral loss, Oyetola was appointed as a minister in Tinubu’s cabinet.
Atiku Bagudu, minister of budget and national planning
Atiku Bagudu served two terms as governor of Kebbi State from 2015 to 2023 under the platform of the APC. Before then, he won a by-election for the Kebbi Central Senatorial seat on the platform of the PDP in 2008 when the seat became vacant after the appointment of Adamu Aliero as minister for the FCT. In the lead-up to the 2015 general elections, Bagudu defected to the APC and was elected governor.
He was re-elected in 2019. Bagudu has been embroiled in various allegations of corruption. Bagudu contested the 2023 Kebbi Central Senatorial election under the APC but lost to Adamu Aliero of the PDP, who had moved back to the PDP after losing the APC primaries. Despite these setbacks, Bagudu was appointed as the minister of budget and national planning.
Bayo Adelabu, minister of power
Bayo Adelabu, born on September 28, 1970, is a former deputy governor, Operations, of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He retired from the CBN in 2019 to run for governor in Oyo State under the APC but lost to Seyi Makinde of the PDP. Adelabu contested again in the 2023 governorship election but was defeated. He was appointed deputy governor of operations, at the CBN by former President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2014. Despite his electoral misfortunes, Adelabu was appointed minister of power in Tinubu’s administration.
Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence
Bello Matawalle, former governor of Zamfara State, served between May 2019 and May 2023. His administration was heavily criticised for failing to curb the rampant insecurity in Zamfara, which became one of the states most affected by terrorist attacks, particularly by bandits, during his tenure. Thousands of people were killed under his watch as banditry spread across the northwest region.
Matawalle contested for a second term in the 2023 elections but was defeated by Dauda Lawal of the PDP. Nevertheless, he was appointed as the minister of state for defence by President Tinubu.
Simon Lalong, minister of labour and employment
Simon Bako Lalong served as the governor of Plateau State from 2015 to 2023. Born on May 5, 1963, in Shendam LGA, Lalong trained as a lawyer before entering politics. His political career began in the early 2000 when he was elected to the state house of assembly, eventually becoming Speaker from 2000 to 2006.
Lalong rose to national prominence after winning the 2015 governorship election on the platform of the APC, defeating the then incumbent, Jonah Jang. In 2023, Lalong contested for the Plateau South Senatorial seat but lost to Napoleon Bali of the PDP.
Lalong was appointed minister of labour and employment in August 2023. He was involved in a legal tussle over the senatorial seat, with the National Assembly appeal court affirming on November 7, 2023, that he won the election.
Uche Nnaji, minister of innovation, science, and technology
Uche Nnaji Nwakaibie hails from Enugu State and was the APC gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 governorship election, where he lost to Peter Mbah of the PDP. Nnaji has a long history in politics and has held several positions within the PDP before joining the APC.
He gained prominence in 1999 when he won the Enugu East senatorial district ticket for the Alliance for Democracy (AD), though he stepped down for Jim Nwobodo, a former governor of old Anambra State, who was eventually elected senator. Despite losing the 2023 gubernatorial race, Nnaji was appointed minister of innovation, science, and trechnology by President Tinubu.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.