A Public Affairs Analyst, and former Director of the Federal Ministry of Information, Gabriel Omonhinmi, has said that President Jonathan’s decision to shuffle his cabinet “was not out of place but was expected”.
This is in view of the recent sack of four ministers by the Nigerian President.
Speaking on Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, Mr Omonhinmi said that in the case of the former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, “her team members did not help her, stating that she (Stella) brought her own team to work with the people in the ministry but they could not function well together.
“The people in the ministry didn’t allow the minister to function. Bullet proof scandal was an alleged means for the President to sack the Minister but it didn’t work, then they brought out a plan B, which was the certificate scandal. It was obvious the people in the ministry were working against the Minister”.
He compared the Ministry for Trade and Investment to the Aviation Ministry, stating that the Minister for Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has carried his team along with him and has been well commended. He said that the Minister of Aviation recruited people who were inexperienced, which created more problems for her. He submitted, “It was clear that President Jonathan needed to let her go.”
Mr Omonhinmi also referred to the position of the Minister of Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe, as inactive, equally discrediting the Ministry of Police Affairs as one that was not needed, as he argued that “with the IG of Police you can run an effective Police system.” He further questioned the functions of both ministries, claiming that they “barely had jobs to do.
“These are all political manoeuvres, I’m surprised they stayed this long” he added.
