The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, has revealed that President Bola Tinubu called the recently sacked Ministers into a private meeting and discussed his decision in a respectful manner
The presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga said the approach marked a departure from previous abrupt dismissals often announced via radio or television.
Speaking on Channels Television’s “Sunday Politics,” Onanuga emphasized that the decision to replace five ministers and reassign ten others was part of a deliberate evaluation process, rather than a sudden move.
Last Wednesday, following a Federal Executive Council meeting, the presidency announced the departures of the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju-Ken Ohanenye; Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John; Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN); Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo; and Minister of Youth Development, Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim.
Onanuga explained that these changes stemmed from a detailed performance review led by Hadiza Usman, Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination.
He said Usman’s team used technology and citizen feedback to assess ministerial performance, gathering data based on public opinion and scores provided by Nigerians.
According to the presidential spokesman, this feedback formed the basis of the decision-making process.
Onanuga said, “The president did not just changed his ministers whimsically. The change went through some procedure. From October last year when we had a retreat, the president told the ministers that they would be assessed. Hadiza (Usman), the Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination, was out in charge.
“She also didn’t do it whimsically. She set up the use of technology, asking citizens of Nigeria to actually score the ministers. To assess this process, I think some data were gotten from what people were saying and the scoring that the Nigerians themselves made. It was on that basis that the president acted upon.
“Some people said (they were) sacked. But the president used a milder word – discharged. When he asked them to go on Wednesday, He was very polite and told them about his decision. He thanked them for their services to the country and wished them well. That was unlike what we are used to before, people just being sacked on radio or television.