ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately sack some of his ministers and security chiefs, citing poor performance and failure to meet the expectations of Nigerians.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme the former Abia State governor said his evaluation of the current cabinet showed that several appointees were underperforming.
According to him, “Some people working with President Tinubu should be relieved of their duties. Some of them should go both from the security sector and among the ministers,” Kalu said.
He stressed the need for President Tinubu to take decisive steps to reposition his administration and respond to the growing frustrations of ordinary Nigerians.
“President Tinubu must be courageous enough to sack some of these ministers. If he takes my advice most of these ministers, I’ve appraised them and talked to him privately, most of them should go, and that is the truth,” he added.
Kalu, who governed Abia State from 1999 to 2007, said the same applied to the nation’s security architecture.
“If he takes my advice, some of the security chiefs will also go. There is no sentiment about redeeming Nigeria if we really want to relieve Nigeria,” he said.
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President Tinubu, upon assuming office on May 29, 2023, appointed 45 ministers, marking the largest cabinet since Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999. The size of the cabinet sparked widespread debate and skepticism.
In October 2024, Tinubu carried out a major cabinet reshuffle: five ministers were sacked, seven new ones appointed, and ten others reassigned to different portfolios.
That shake-up affected strategic ministries including education, tourism, women’s affairs, youth development, and housing.
The Ministry of Niger Delta Development was renamed the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Sports was dissolved, and tourism was merged with arts and culture.
Commenting on the state of the economy, Senator Kalu acknowledged that while some reforms introduced by President Tinubu are starting to yield results, the benefits have not reached the average Nigerian.
“The macro side is coming, but the other downsides are not coming very well. Nigerians in the lower area are still suffering. They have not started having the benefit of the changes President Tinubu is making,” Kalu noted.
He warned that real improvement would take time, and that ongoing insecurity especially in rural areas continued to hinder progress, particularly in agriculture and food production.
“The changes are trickling down it’s going to take another one to two years for the changes to come. And what is causing it is because insurgencies and the problems all over Nigeria are still making people not go to the farm.
“Some people working with Tinubu should be relieved of their duties”, he added.