President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will go down in history as the leader with the largest cabinet in the country.
On Sunday, the president again, made two new appointments after he named Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim as the Minister of Youth and Ayodele Olawande, minister of State For Youth.
Ajuri Ngelale, Special Assistant to The President on Media and Publicity said in a statement on Sunday that the two appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate.
He said, “Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim is a young medical doctor and most recently served as the President of the Progressive Young Women Forum (PYWF). She has also served as the Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara State Governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Mr. Ayodele Olawande is a community development expert and youth leader in the governing All Progressives’ Congress (APC). He most recently served in the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Innovation from 2019 to 2023.
“President Tinubu charges the above-mentioned nominees to ensure that they consistently reflect the dynamism, innovative zeal, and unyielding productivity that are synonymous with the young people of Nigeria as they discharge their duties.”
The new appointments come on the heels of criticism against his government for making too many political appointments since coming to power on May 29, 2023.
Before the latest appointments, the president had earlier appointed 45 ministers into his cabinets aside from the retinue of aides who now work with him and Vice President Kashim Shetima.
Speaking on the large cabinet, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar cited, for instance, the appointment of 15 media aides as unnecessary.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate in the February 25 presidential election, stated that the media aides were appointed purely on propaganda, and nothing else.
Atiku spoke through his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement on Sunday.
Apart from the former number two citizen, not a few Nigerianss have trenchantly criticised President Tinubu for having a big cabinet, which, they claimed cannot be supported by the current economic situation in the country.
Nigerians, those who spoke to the magazine on the issue, said are angry because of the serious economic problem they are going through due to the austerity measures imposed by President Tinubu since he came to power.
The president has cited the dearth of enough resources for introducing some austerity measures such as the removal of subsidy on petrol and the naira.
Not a few Nigerians now consider the president to be insensitive by the number of ministers and aides he has appointed, saying his administration has not demonstrated that it understands what they are going through.
“These ministers and aides will be paid using taxpayers’ funds. The funds are not even available now, considering what the country is going through. We need to live within our means, and the government must take the lead in this regard,” Jacob Adeola, a political analyst said on Monday.
The Nigerian 1999 Constitution (as amended) gives the president the power to nominate at least 36 ministers, one from each state in the country, and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
The provision, according to keen watchers of the polity in the country, has been capitalized on by the leaders to appoint unwieldy aides to work with them as soon as they come to power.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan appointed 36 ministers to his cabinet, while ex-President Muhammadu Buhari appointed 44 ministers.
Apart from the resources that are used in paying their salaries and allowances, many of these aides and minsters are considered to be performing the same roles in government.
For instance, they are questioning why the president had to appoint two Ministers of Youth. ‘They are doing the same job” the analyst said.
“This is the first time a president in the country will appoint two ‘Co-ordinating Ministers’ in his cabinet. We have Dr Pate as the coordinating Minister of Health and Wale Edun as the Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy. What are they co-ordinating that one minister cannot do?” he said.
He explained that “the president already has a chief of staff, apart from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The president has also recently appointed Muri Okunola, the Lagos State Head of Service as his Private Secretary. What will all these people be doing apart from living large on the small resources in the country?”
He warned that the appointment is likely to engender struggle and conflict of interest among the various government officials to the detriment of the country.
Meanwhile, supporters of the president insist that those who worked for him to win the election need to be settled one way or the order. This is the reason why President Tinubu has to appoint more ministers and aides, they said.
