A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to recruit more creative individuals into his cabinet as part of measures to fulfill his Renewed Hope Agenda for the people of Nigeria.
In a statement made available to newsmen on Monday, Nwauju emphasized the need to inject freshness into President Tinubu’s cabinet. He stated, “More forward-looking appointments to strategic offices that bring the quality of Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo would benefit the Tinubu administration at a time like this.”
Nwauju, who served in the immediate past executive of the APC in Rivers State, said, “I believe that in a presidential democracy, where the buck stops at the president’s table, appointing energetic and visionary lieutenants as ministers is crucial for delivering on the administration’s mandate.
I liken it to a movie producer assembling the best actors and actresses who can interpret their roles effectively and captivate the audience.”
He pointed out that politics and governance are people-centric. Since the president received a mandate from Nigerians in 2023 to serve them, “it is extremely important that he appoints effective salespeople (ministers) who will not only maintain the party’s reputation as the winning party but also enhance its acceptability.
The services rendered by these ministers can significantly improve the administration’s reputation or help re-market it.”
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According to the Rivers APC chief, to gain the support of the electorate and the masses of Nigeria, “I suggest that Mr. President may also need to consider re-jigging his cabinet as part of other solutions.”
Nwauju noted that the president had considered measuring the performance of his appointees and added, “I, along with many Nigerians, believe that the time is ripe for him to take decisive action by removing most of his ministers.
It is relatively straightforward to use the outstanding performance and transformation seen in the Ministry of Interior as a benchmark to evaluate the output of other ministries in relation to their budgetary allocations.”
“A country of over 200 million people surely can offer more individuals like Dr. Tunji-Ojo, who has transformed a ministry that was previously heard of only when national holiday notices were announced.
This ministry is now reshaping the narrative of our correctional centers—many of which were built in the early nineteenth century as punitive centers but are now being converted into rehabilitation homes.
It has eliminated a once chaotic and corrupt passport issuance process, decongested the NIS passport booklet locker, and achieved all this within less than five weeks of resuming office through hands-on innovative ideas. Today, that Ministry has exceeded expectations and won the hearts of Nigerians.”
“Whether we acknowledge it or not, we would have had fewer or even no protesters if all ministers in the cabinet were working effectively and delivering on their mandate to serve the Nigerian people.”
