Tinubu’s ministers and matters arising

President Bola Tinubu assigned portfolios to ministers last week, and they were sworn in on Monday. All eyes are on them to deliver the renewed hope mandate of the president.

The president had previously stated that Nigerians want quick and fast solutions. He also made it clear that nobody should pity him, as he asked for this job and has no excuse but to deliver.

No doubt, there are millions waiting for the president to fail so they can gloat and say, “I told you so”. So, it is in President Tinubu’s interest to deliver.

I expect the ministers to hit the ground running. We don’t want them to spend the next six months blamestorming. Enough of the blame game. We know your predecessors didn’t perform or didn’t complete projects. We are not interested in hearing fairy tales. Nigerians want to see results quickly.

The ministers should be given one-year targets. We don’t want the era of ministers spending four or eight years in office. Any minister who spends more than two years must be a high performer and not mediocre.

There were few surprises in the assignment of portfolios, but I was not surprised by the portfolios assigned to former Rivers state governor, Wyesom Wike, as FCT minister, and former Ebonyi governor, Dave Umahi, as minister of works. I kind of expected it.

From the splitting of ministries and the creation of some, it is obvious that increasing revenue is the president’s target, which is good. Nigeria currently has a debt profile of N49.85 trillion. No doubt, we need to improve our revenue to undertake some key infrastructure projects.

FCT Minister Wike has already hit the ground running. He has threatened to demolish illegal structures and make the capital city beautiful once again.

Needless to say, the capital city is in a mess. Insecurity is at an all-time high in Abuja. The rate of car theft has risen astronomically in the last few months in Abuja. Parking your car in the market or a public space and coming back to see your car is a miracle. If your car is not stolen, your windows would have been broken. If your car breaks down at night in some places in the city centre, it is better to abandon your car if you want to stay alive.

It’s given that Abuja is supposed to be the most secure city in Nigeria, but the opposite is the case. Also, most of the general hospitals are in a sorry state.

Suffice it to say, Wike has a lot on his hands. He has promised to revive the rail lines in the capital city in less than a year. I think he should focus more on solving the insecurity in Abuja and equipping the general hospitals to an acceptable standard.

I have no doubt in my mind that Wike will perform as FCT minister; he has a history of competence and can step on toes when he wants to, but at the same time, he should tread with caution.

Also, Umahi was one of the best governors in the last administration, and giving him the works ministry is a round peg in a round hole. However, to perform as minister of works, there needs to be sufficient budgetary allocation and, at the same time, releases to the ministry. If enough money had been released to the former minister, Babatunde Fashola, I am sure he would have completed many more road projects. Releasing money for road projects is the elephant in the room.

With the creation of the blue and marine economy, gas resources, creative arts, and tourism ministries, I believe the revenue of the country will increase significantly in the next year.

Another key minister is Wale Edun, the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy. He has been hailed as a financial expert and is highly spoken of in the finance industry, but it takes more than that to succeed as a minister or public official in Nigeria. We have seen many first-class brains fail in public service. There is something about public office in Nigeria. I expect Wale Edun to live up to the hype. No excuses.