Praises, Knocks Over Tinubu’s Ministerial Portfolios

As President Bola Tinubu assigned portfolios to his ministers, Nigerians have continued to react to the development.

AN24 broke the news of the unveiling of the portfolio late Wednesday when the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, made the announcement.

Some of the other key portfolios include Ali Pate, a professor, as Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, and Lateef Fagbemi as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. Ex-Kebbi Governor Atiku Bagudu was named Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.

Speaking with AN24TV, some Nigerians queried the president’s choice of portfolios he assigned to some of his Ministers while others applauded him.

In a chat with our correspondent, former presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Chief Martins Onovo, condemned the ministerial assignments, stating that some of them were not given the right position.

He faulted the whole process of nomination and allocation of ministerial slots by President Tinubu, saying, “We are building a house on sand and it is going to collapse. I’m not going to talk about those champions of corruption he nominated or what portfolio he assigned to them. As far as I’m concerned, all these are frivolous. He can nominate an ant or go to a poultry farm to get his minister of aviation, that is business.”

Some Nigerians who spoke to our correspondent on the streets of Lagos faulted President Tinubu’s choice of assigning the portfolios, alleging that it is sentimental, nepotistic, and lacks competent Nigerians.

In contrast, some other Nigerians hailed the President over the development and stated that he did well by not allowing politicians to populate the list, thereby giving room for technocrats in the ministerial list.

They insisted that the President made the right choice of individuals and allocated accurate portfolios to the ministers.

Kunle Akintunde, who spoke to AN24 in the Ogba area of Lagos said, “The portfolio was meticulously done by bringing the technocrat and politician on board and the President did not allow the politicians to overwhelm the technocrats on the list. When you look at the names on the list and the portfolio assigned to them, they are the best of the best.

“It is some fascists in this country that have nothing to contribute to the table apart from destruction that are condemning the list and portfolios. Anybody that doesn’t want them should form his own cabinet, the president has formed his own.”

On his part, Raphael Ezekiel, lamented that “the nomination is filled with leaders without clues. The allocation is not based on competence, prowess or the strength of the nominees, it is based on nepotism and favours only people close to the president. The list is full of people who have no knowledge of the ministries they were allocated to.“