Finally, President Buhari Sets Date To ‘Reshuffle Cabinet’

President Buhari has reportedly set a date to reshuffle cabinet after five years.

Newsone Nigeria understands that President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to have a shock cabinet reshuffle that would see more technocrats join the government before the end of September, according to a report filed by THE WHISTLER.

The report quoted a Presidential source to have revealed that the President instructed his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, to collect the CVs of some persons he would like to be part of his government while he’s expected to drop some of his current ministers.

Although the reasons for the planned reshuffle were still hazy, the report said President Buhari is said to be bothered by the allegation of non-performance levelled against his administration by people he called “irresponsible and politically motivated activist” on Tuesday while addressing the Ministerial Performance Review Retreat in Abuja.

The report said though President Buhari believes his administration has done creditably well, he is said to have yielded to pressure to energize his cabinet and bring in technocrats who would give the government some clout locally and internationally.

However, the source quoted by THE WHISTLER could not confirm if the impending changes would include the military hierarchy, especially in view of agitations by a section of the country for representation in the security architecture of the country.

“The president is his own adviser on military matters since he is himself a retired military general,” the source stated.

According to the report, it is also unclear which ministers or aides would be asked to go, but the source believes Buhari had already made up his mind on who would leave the cabinet as far back as February, adding that the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic held his hands.

Why President Buhari delayed the announcement

The report said the source suggested that the president may also be considering appointing some Nigerians in Diaspora to be part of the new cabinet. “You cannot make appointments at a time when the airspace is closed and people can neither fly in or out of the country. That’s why he delayed some of the appointments he could have made earlier.

“But now that the airspace is open, I can assure you the President will make the changes before the end of September. That is what will follow the ministerial retreat”

According to the report, President Buhari planned to bring in people who would add value to his government and help the country navigate the present difficulties and challenges but whatever the president may be planning on doing in the coming weeks, he did not give any indication of it during the just concluded ministerial performance review retreat.

It was learned that President Buhari was upbeat on the performance of his cabinet and urged them to rededicate themselves to the service of the country, saying that from the report on the score sheet of the ministers, “it is encouraging to note that progress has been made on all fronts.”

However, it was in the President’s opening speech that he made a veiled hint of what may come after the retreat. After listing the nine priority areas of his administration, which included agriculture, economy, power, transportation and poverty alleviation, he said:

“Distinguished participants, to address our current economic challenges, and consolidate on our achievements over the past year, this retreat has been designed to: Review the performance of each Minister in delivering the priority mandates, including programmes and projects assigned to them upon their appointment in 2019; Identify key impediments to implementation; and Re-strategize on how to accelerate delivery of results, given the current economic situation.

“The retreat would also provide the opportunity to effectively evaluate the activities of the Ministries over the last twelve months with regard to the delivery of our agenda and promise to Nigerians.”