President Muhammadu Buhari has explained that the sack of Minister of Agriculture and and Rural Development, Mohammed Nanono, and Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman was done to deepen the process of governance which would enable him deliver a legacy ahead of his exit from power.
The president said his administration was approaching a critical phase in its second term, hence the need to rejig the cabinet to strengthen “weak areas, close gaps, manage the economy and improve the delivery of public good in the country.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, announced the sack of the ministers in Abuja after the Federal Executive Council meeting.
According to Adesina, the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar, has been redeployed to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, while the Minister of State for Works, Abubakar Aliyu, is to take over as Minister of Power. He said the exercise will continue in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
“I must commend this cabinet for demonstrating unparalleled resilience that helped the government to navigate the disruption to global systems and governance occasioned by the emergence of COVID-19 shortly after inauguration. The weekly Federal Executive Council meetings was not spared because the traditional mode was altered. As we are all aware, change is the only factor that is constant in every human endeavour and as this administration approaches its critical phase in the second term, I have found it essential to reinvigorate this cabinet in a manner that will deepen its capacity to consolidate legacy achievements”, the President said in his text read by his aide.