President Jonathan on Wednesday showed his political adversaries his Machiavellian side when he strategically shed the dead weight from his cabinet, as 9 ministers were given the boot. Political analysts have asserted that this turn of events arose from the politics of long knives which has taken over the PDP recently.
President Goodluck Jonathan, in his first major cabinet shake-up since his inauguration on May 29, 2011, sacked 9 ministers in one fell swoop. The sacking shocked the Federal Executive Council members, most of whom had arrived the Council Chambers in the Presidential Villa in high spirits.
It was reported that some of the sacked and retained ministers betrayed their emotions as they shed tears. Old mamas and papas crying for loss of position and power- just like eviction from Big Brother House.
Analysts have pointed out that virtually all the sacked ministers had links with state governors or powerful leaders opposed to the leadership of the party and the president in the run-up to the 2015 elections. See the relationships below:
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| Top: Zainab Kuchi, Erelu Olusula Obada, Buka Tijani, and Ita Bassey Ewah Below: Olugbenga Ashiru, Ama Peppel, Ruquyatu Rufai, Shamshudeen Usman and Hadiza Mailafia |
• Olugbenga Ashiru (Foreign Affairs) from Ogun State: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo reportedly recommended him for the cabinet post.
During last Democracy Day ceremonies, rather than join Jonathan in marking the day in Abuja, Obasanjo was guest of Governor Lamido in Dutse, the capital city of Jigawa State.
There, he was quoted as praising the developmental strides of the state administration and prayed that Lamido should extend the same to the national level from 2015.
• Ama Pepple (Minister of Lands) from Rivers State: She was the nominee of estranged Rivers governor, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who also claimed to have nominated the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, who is today Amaechi’s nemesis.
• Shamsudeen Usman (Minister of National Planning) from Kano: He was made minister under the Yar’Adua administration. Yet, he is reportedly close to the Kano State governor, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The governor is said to be next to Amaechi in the hierarchy of “enemies of the President,” politically. Kwankwaso’s role is well documented in the scuttling of alleged plan of the presidency to install Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State as the “chairman” of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).
The governor is one of the anti-Tukur elements of the PDP reportedly earmarked for “severe punishment” in the ongoing schism in the party.
• Erelu Obada (Minister of State, Defence) from Osun: She was a nominee of former Osun State governor, Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who is one of the leading lights of the Kawu Baraje-led New-PDP that is threatening to derail the ambition of Jonathan for a 2nd term in office.
A source revealed that Oyinlola nominated Obadan, a deputy governor under him.
• Zainab Kuchi (Minister of State, Power) from Niger: She has links with the state governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, another vocal campaigner for a Northern president in 2015
Sources said the governor was the “most slippery” of the governors advancing the interest of the North in 2015.
“When he (Babangida) sees the president or his handlers, he will say ‘I'm with you.’ But when he turns back, he will say a different thing. So, the presidency people fear the man as they fear ‘Maradona.’”
• Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai (Minister of Education) nominated by Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, who is said to be eyeing the presidency come 2015 and encouraged by Obasanjo
“When he (Babangida) sees the president or his handlers, he will say ‘I'm with you.’ But when he turns back, he will say a different thing. So, the presidency people fear the man as they fear ‘Maradona.’”
• Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai (Minister of Education) nominated by Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, who is said to be eyeing the presidency come 2015 and encouraged by Obasanjo
Other ministers affected in the shake-up are either from states controlled by the opposition and thus, seen as sympathetic to their cause, or that they had issues with the leaders in those states.
Meanwhile, some serving ministers have been deployed to oversee the activities of the ministries whose ministers were sacked in the purge. See list below:
Labaran Maku (Minister of Information) - Ministry of Defence
Nyesom Wike (Minister of State for Education) - Ministry of Education
Darius Ishaku (Minister of State for Niger Delta Development) - Ministry of Environment
Musa Sada (Minister of Solid Mineral Dev) - Ministry of Lands, Housing & Urban Development
Omobola Johnson ( Minister of Communication Technology) - Ministry of Science and Technology
Bashir Yuguda (Minister of state, Works) - Ministry of National Planning.
Akinwumi Adesina (Ministers of Agriculture) - Ministry of State for Agriculture
Chinedu Nebo (Minister of Power) - Ministry of Power for State
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