Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan Sacks Nine Ministers

President Goodluck Jonathan, in his first major cabinet shake-up since his inauguration on May 29, 2011, sacked nine ministers on Wednesday.

 

The  sacking , announced by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, shocked the Federal Executive Council members, most of whom had arrived the Council Chambers in the Presidential Villa  in high spirits  exchanging banter.

Before they left, deafening silence enveloped the Council Chambers as the President reeled out the names of the affected ministers. Some of the  sacked and retained ministers betrayed their emotions as they shed tears.

The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, announced the cabinet shake-up after the weekly FEC  meeting  in Abuja.

The sacked ministers are  stated below

• Prof.  Ruqayyatu Rufai (Education)
• Okon Ewa-Bassey (Science and Techology)
• Olugbenga Ashiru (Foreign Affairs)
• Hadiza Mailafia (Environment)
• Shamsudeen Usman (National Planning)
• Ama  Pepple (Housing, Lands and Urban Development)
• Olusola Obada (State for Defence)
• Alhaji Bukar Tijani (Agriculture)
• Zainab Kuchi (Power)

The PUNCH had exclusively reported on August 29 that Jonathan was under pressure from his close aides  to sack some ministers and appoint those believed to have political value in their states. The aides were  said to have  argued that if the President decided to seek re-election in 2015, many ministers lacked  the required political clout to deliver their states.

A top Presidency source had said that Jonathan was advised  by the aides to constitute what they described as “election cabinet.” Such a cabinet, according to a source, will comprise mostly people that would  be proud to defend Jonathan  whenever he was being criticized.

But Maku explained that the dropping of the ministers had no political undertone.

Source