In defense of his 48-minister cabinet on Monday, President Bola Tinubu said that the composition of the group reflects the variety of positions necessary to manage an effective administration.
This was revealed in a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Ajuri Ngelale , on Monday.
Acknowledging the wide criticism against his large cabinet, Tinubu explained that merging portfolios would further put unbearable pressure on his cabinet members.
Naija News recalls that smaller cabinets were maintained by former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, Umaru Yar’Adua, and Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari appointed 36 and 42 ministers during his first and second terms, respectively. Jonathan, his predecessor, retained nine members of the Yar’Adua administration out of 33 cabinet nominees he announced in 2011.
Yar’Adua named 39 individuals to his cabinet in 2007. In 1999, Obasanjo selected 42 ministers, although he subsequently shed two roles. Before his term ended in 2007, he also trimmed the number of ministries to 20.
However, justifying his decision to appoint 48 ministers, Tinubu said, “I have had a number of criticisms, including the rationale behind the size of my cabinet. If you want efficient, mobile, and resourceful people, we have to give people a load they can carry.
“If you combine too many ministries because you want to save money, you will have a future of non-performance and no results. Nigeria needs to turn the corner to grow, and we must give people challenges they can manage, and that is what we are doing.”
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