Category: Insight

Last Wednesday’s cabinet reshuffle, in the wake of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 16-month reforms that have triggered a cost-of-living crisis, is the government’s strategic response to realign its personnel to achieve the ruling party’s Renewed Hope agenda. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI sought the views of observers on this development and they have provided insight into what the Tinubu administration can do to change the narratives.

After dithering for months, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally yielded to public pressure to rejig his cabinet to inject some dynamism into the implementation of his Renewed Hope agenda. In political terms, a cabinet reshuffle often signals that the initial grace period has come to an end. So, it is an indication that the honeymoon is over and that appointees of the government must deliver on the promises President Tinubu made to Nigerians during the electioneering campaign that preceded his election in February last year.

Tinubu’s lightning reform push after taking office last year had sparked hope that his administration would be an antidote to the mounting economic challenges facing the country.

The government had put in place key reforms to engender growth and restructure the economy. For instance, in May 2023, shortly after being sworn in, Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidies as part of measures to reform the energy sector. Through the Central Bank, he equally put measures in place to unify the numerous foreign exchange windows and bridge the gaps in the official and parallel markets. There have equally been reforms in the energy sector, with attendant increases in electricity tariffs paid by certain categories of electricity consumers.

While these reforms have been hailed as desirable by the World Bank, IMF and other development partners, based on their potential long-term impacts, they have had a ripple effect on the purchasing power of Nigerians amid skyrocketing inflation and elevated interest rates on the domestic front. Thus, 16 months later, the results have fueled discontent among Nigerians, who have staged protests amid widespread complaints. The key planks of his economic policy – devaluing the naira and the removal of petrol and electricity subsidies – have sent inflation soaring to 32.70 per cent, triggering a cost-of-living crisis. Nigerians are disillusioned because the hardship has been biting harder.

Last Wednesday’s cabinet reshuffle, in the wake of these developments, is a wakeup call for all those serving in the government. In the exercise, President Tinubu restructured ministerial portfolios to reinvigorate his administration’s capacity to deliver on his promises to Nigerians. In the shake-up, he reshuffled his 45-member cabinet, naming seven new ministers, sacking five and reassigning 10 others to new portfolios. It includes renaming the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to the Ministry of Regional Development, winding up the Ministry of Sports, and the merger of the ministries of Tourism and Arts and Culture. Some key ministers, including those of finance, defence, national planning and two junior ministers all retained their positions. The president also appointed new ministers for humanitarian and poverty reduction, trade and investment, labour, livestock development and junior ministers for foreign affairs, education and housing.

Despite being one of Africa’s top crude oil producers, Nigeria has become one of the world’s poorest countries. Nigerians are particularly not happy over the fact that the lifestyle of public officials does not reflect the general situation in the country. In the aftermath of the cabinet shake-up, Tinubu, who is widely regarded as a listening leader, has issued a new directive on how to reduce the cost of governance. In the directive issued on Thursday, the president has directed ministers, ministers of state, and heads of federal agencies to limit their official convoys to a maximum of three vehicles. The decision aims to curb unnecessary expenses and encourage fiscal responsibility within the government, according to a statement by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, Dele Alake, his Solid Minerals counterpart, are among those who were not affected in the cabinet reshuffle. Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, are also among those who retained their portfolios. President Tinubu has been commended for attaching the portfolios of the minister-designates to facilitate their assessment and approval by the Senate.

But, beyond the razzmatazz surrounding the cabinet shake-up, Nigerians now expect the president and his new cabinet to pull up their bootstraps and address the numerous challenges plaguing the economy. What the cabinet rejig portends for retained ministers and incoming ones is a warning that time is running out for the administration, and that, going forward, the president would accept nothing short of excellent performance. The challenges facing the country have been mounting since the era of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), which was voted out of power in 2015. It was precisely for this reason that the former ruling party, now the main opposition party, was kicked out of office; because it failed to plan adequately and effectively. Over nine years later, the country is not yet out of the woods, socio-economically, and President Tinubu had vowed in his inaugural address and his July 31, 2023 broadcast to rejig the policies of his predecessor in office to improve the living conditions of Nigerians.

Read Also: Tinubu destined to fix Nigeria, says sacked minister

Many observers have given an insight into what the Tinubu administration can do to change the narratives. Security and the economy are two vital sectors that are crucial to the success of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda. Observers believe there is an improvement in the area of security, but a lot still needs to be done. For instance, the security situation has improved in the Northwest. It is highly commendable that Defence Minister, Bello Matawalle relocated to the zone to coordinate the onslaught against the bandits. A similar improvement was also noticeable in the Northeast. However, the efforts should be sustained for a meaningful impact on the economy in the medium and long term.

A former presidential spokesman, Dr Doyin Okupe, has commended President Tinubu’s decision to scrap ‘superfluous ministries’ in his cabinet reshuffle. He said: “President Tinubu has done the needful by his mid-term rejig of his cabinet. Scrapping superfluous ministries is in line with removing waste and making government compact and effective, this is commendable. For the first time, the removal of ministers from the cabinet has not been arbitrary or sentimental, apart from an in-house key performance index report. KPMG is also said to be involved in critical performance assessment of the ministers.”

Okupe expressed hope in the President’s Renewed Hope agenda to reposition the country. He said: “As I have personally stated in the past, President Tinubu has the capacity and leadership qualities to take Nigeria out of the economic quagmire he met on assumption of office in May 2023.”

But, a retired military intelligence officer and presidential candidate of the Grassroots Development Party of Nigeria (GDPN) in the 2019 general election, Dr Davidson Akhimien, said the general perception is that no tangible progress has been made in critical sectors. He told our reporter: “The decision to retain some ministers has led to speculations that political loyalty, rather than competence, played a significant role in the reshuffle. But, in fairness, politics cannot be ruled out in the formation of any cabinet in a democratic setting. But, since the exercise is coming at a time when the administration is faced with economic challenges, public discontent and pressing demands for reforms, I enjoin the president not to turn the searchlight away from ministers who survived the cabinet rejig. This is because, at the end of the day, his legacy will be defined not just by his policies but also by the people he chooses to implement them. This is because the challenges facing the country require leaders with both the technical expertise and the political will to drive innovation and development.”

On the economy, inflation is still high. After two months of easing it went up in September. It is noteworthy that the September rate was driven by the further hike in fuel prices. This has had a spiral effect on the prices of food. Similarly, the exchange rate is also on the rise. A lot is being done by the government to bring it down but the positive impact is yet to be felt. These have jeopardized the situation in many homes because many families are finding it increasingly difficult to feed. It appears the administration has to do more in the area of planning for social safety nets to help the poor and vulnerable cope with the immediate impact of the reforms.

Tinubu’s re-assigning of some ministers suggests that is re-balancing and optimizing the skills and competencies of those involved for better performance. For instance, the movement of Dr Doris Anite-Uzorka, who was hitherto the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, to the Ministry of Finance, is perceived as a good development because she is now in more familiar terrain, given her sectoral expertise, with decades of banking experience.

With this development, the ministry has two ministers, the Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, and Dr Anite-Uzorka. The import of this is that the president desires more from those calling the shots in the highly strategic ministry. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF annual meetings in Washington, DC, on Friday, Edun indicated that the Federal Government is actively pursuing plans to de-dollarise the economy to strengthen the demand for the local currency, the naira. He said there is a move to de-dollarise the economy to encourage local service providers, regulators, and others to “invoice in naira rather than dollars”. He added, “It reduces the value of the dollar and, of course, increases the demand for the naira.”

The government also intends to boost the contribution of the Ministry of Trade and Industry to the economy by the appointment of Dr Jumoke Oduwole (the minister-designate). She is reputed to be well versed in issues affecting the ministry as a lawyer who majors in commercial law and as someone who has worked in that field since the tenure of the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, not a few Nigerians have criticized the increase in the number of ministries, from 48 to 50. The general expectation was that he would reduce the number of ministries as a way of bringing down the cost of governance, in line with the 2012 Oronsaye Report, which recommended restructuring parastatals, commissions and agencies to reduce their number to a manageable size.

But, foremost economist, Dr Ayo Teriba disagrees with such notions, arguing that the cost of governance cannot be looked at in isolation without considering the benefits of the system of government that the country is running. He told our reporter: “In economics, we usually talk about cost/benefits analysis. Even when we were practising the parliamentary system, we were still a federal republic with four regions. Then development was concentrated to the federal capital and the capitals of the four regions. When we moved to 12 states, it took development further to the grassroots. In the defunct Western Region, for instance, government presence was not just concentrated in Ibadan as before; Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Ondo states were created out of the old Western Region and development was extended to other cities outside Ibadan and Lagos, which was the federal capital then. It was the same in the East and the North. So, we had to develop new capitals in places that were previously rural settlements. When it went from 12 to 19 states, seven new centres of development were added. We went from 19 to 30 states, and today, we have 36 states. If we go up to 54 states in future, we will spread it further.

“The problem we have is that the executive and the legislature are not pulling their weight in contributing to revenue generation; everybody just wants to spend. That is a drawback and that is why everybody is talking about the high cost of governance. Instead of talking about opportunities to unlock wealth in their constituencies, the lawmakers are only interested in getting part of the money spent on constituency projects. At the end of the day, they end up doing projects that are of no benefit to their constituencies. The MDAs are not focusing on unlocking the revenues they are sitting upon in their respective areas; everyone is only interested in getting a part of the oil money. All the solid minerals that are lying dormant in various parts of the country, nobody is interested in the exploitation of such resources for the benefit of the people. Members of the National Assembly should also extend the national conversation on how to exploit those untapped benefits for the interest of the people.

“The defunct regions were unlocking resources in their domains, whereas the states we have today are only focusing on going to the centre every month to receive allocations from the Federation Account. They neglect the resources they have in their states because they are expecting a share of the crude oil export distributed at the centre. So, let’s get back to the psychology of Sir Ahmadu Bello in the North, Obafemi Awolowo in the West and Sir Akanu Ibiam in the East. They were not waiting for handouts from the centre. Rather, they were unlocking wealth from within, developing their regions and contributing to the centre. The focus should be on how to get more benefits from governance, not the cost of governance.”

Former presidential aide Laolu Akande said Presidential Tinubu must have been under tremendous pressure to carry out the cabinet rejig because one year is not enough to assess the performance of the government, as many of its allies argued. Akande, who was commenting on the development during a programme on TVC, added that owing to the general public perception that the performance of the government was underwhelming, the president had no choice but to reshuffle the cabinet and throw out the perceived dead weights.

He said: “But, essentially, the president is satisfied with the performance in the core areas of governance, such as the economy. He believes we have to stay the course economically because he wasn’t expecting the removal of fuel subsidies and the liberalization of the foreign exchange market to bring immediate returns. So, my point is that the public expectation is different from what the president intends and wants to do.

“For me, there are some very good new ministers that have been proposed. One of them is Dr Jumoke Oduwole, a brilliant fellow who has been on that problem for seven years. Now she is getting an opportunity to implement many of the ideas that she has come up with. So, the president has tried to invigorate the economic team by bringing in Dr Oduwole. Then, if you look at the profile of the Livestock Minister-designate, Idi Muktar Maiha, he is also somebody who has hands-on experience in the livestock business. So, there is also a lot of expectation from that side.”

Akande said Tinubu has tried to meet public expectations by throwing out some perceived non-performing ministers and reassigning others to areas where they may do better. However, he said the president has not gone the whole hog. “I think he has barely done more than 50 per cent to meet expectation but he should have gone further. For instance, I am not sure there is sufficient justification to keep Defence Minister, Bello Mattawale on the job, with all the allegations that were brought against him by a sitting governor. Some have defended him by saying those allegations are not true but the question is, who made the investigation? If a sitting governor says this minister is supporting bandits, we need to have a public review of the allegation; it is not something that can be swept under the carpet. In the case of Betta Edu, at least we know the matter was referred to the EFCC, even though we don’t know the outcome.”

Akande said it is too early to assess the performance of Adegboyega Oyetola in the Marine and Blue Economy because it is a new ministry that would require a long period of gestation. Besides, the former presidential aide said those who came up with the idea of the ministry had someone else in mind to occupy the seat; at least, someone was publicly nominated for that position. Against this background, he believes Oyetola ought to have been given more time to find his feet. “But, even if the person they had in mind had been appointed, it is still early; one year is not enough to assess the performance of the new ministry. The point is, is there a direction? Is there a strategic approach, and are we getting close to it, or are we just marking time?”

Akande said coordination is one aspect that President Tinubu must pay attention to if he wants the new ministers to succeed. He said: “He has rejigged his cabinet; we have to give him a pass mark for that, even though he did not go the whole hog. However, he has to also deal with the question of coordination. Let me give you an example. The EFCC wants to arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello. The question is, is it the EFCC that wants to arrest Yahaya Bello or the Federal Government of Nigeria? If it is the Federal Government, how was it that other federal agencies such as the DSS and the police who are around Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo could not work together with the EFCC to arrest the former governor? That tells you that the president does not have an enforcer who should have called all of them to a meeting and said, what kind of an embarrassment is this? You guys ought to have this job done this way.

“So, the president has to look at his coordination. Another example is the Economic Management Team; what work are they doing? Do we even know whether they are meeting? There is no coordination. The Vice President is excluded from the Economic Management Team but he needs to sit down and sort out the question of coordination.”

Without mentioning names, Akande said the reassignment of two former substantive ministers to work as junior ministers, which is technically a demotion, is an indication that Tinubu was not impressed by their performance and that their being retained in the cabinet could be due to their political influence. He said some of the new appointments were based on politics, while others were based on performance.

On issues that affect Nigerians most, particularly poverty, human capital development, health and education, the former presidential aide said there is the need for collaboration with the various state governors because those areas are not on the Exclusive List and the states equally must deliver on those issues. He added: “There will be instances when this collaboration would be not easy, such as states where the governors were not elected on the APC platform and the governors would consider them as opponents. We have this scenario in Plateau, where Nentawe Yilwatda contested against Caleb Mutfwang, who is now the governor, during the last general election. But such coordination is very important, particularly in the three areas of health, education and poverty alleviation; we want to see more collaboration with the states.”

Investment banker and business development expert, Akintunde Maberu said a government does not need to wait till midway into its tenure to reshuffle the cabinet. He said any government that wants to perform must have a benchmark by which to rate ministers and that it must continue to ring changes in the cabinet to keep its members on their toes. He said: “The rejig is good. Any government that wants to perform must constantly introduce changes. It must have a benchmark by which you rate ministers. This is what the Tinubu administration has done; although it is late in coming, we anticipated it. It began as a rumour and the government later confirmed it. At the end of the day, Uju-Ken Ohanenye, Lola Ade-John, Tahir Mamman, and Abdullahi Gwarzo, the ministers of Women’s Affairs, Tourism, Education, and Housing and Urban Development, respectively, were relieved of their duties.

“Among the five former ministers, it is only the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, that came as a surprise to me. It took some landmark decisions, particularly his insistence that the minimum age for university admission should be 18 years. It is merely an implementation of an existing law in the country but it did not go down well with many parents who want to push their children beyond the limit their physical bodies could cope with. When we talk of prodigies, people with special abilities, which are exceptions, that is a different thing. We can make exceptions for those categories of children.”

Maberu, who is the chief executive officer of Abusi Ventures, said the issue of the galloping inflation is unfortunate because it has made the situation difficult for many families to feed. He added: “Nevertheless, we must look at it from a fundamental point of view because for you to appreciate where we are currently, you have to go back and look at some of the things we did in the past that have led to the situation we find ourselves in. We, as Nigerians, are a peculiar people; we do not always want to do that which is right to derive the benefit of our natural endowment. There have been policy somersaults in the past; there have been policy mix-match. There are so many things that have been done wrongly to the extent that we have eaten our cake ahead of time.

“But this time is a time of correction and it is difficult for many Nigerians to accept it. For instance, I was surprised by some of the things done by former Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, a reputed banker and an economist, such as the printing of the naira without the backing of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the ways and means through which the government was borrowing and those borrowings were not used for infrastructure. Quite a lot of funds were stolen under him. If such distortions were not corrected, Nigeria would have collapsed. We have an economy that is dependent on importation; we do not produce. We had millions of people importing what we can easily produce in the country. Our scarce foreign exchange was being used to make all the importation. We are now being compelled by circumstances to increase our productive capacity, particularly agro-allied, otherwise known as non-oil export, which is the future of our economy. The agro-allied ecosystem is so wide for everyone to play in.

“Though we have a government that is setting an agenda, those saddled with the implementation of those policies, including the ministers and the civil servants you will weep for the country. If you have anything to do with the various agencies and ministries you will feel sorry for this country. Those working in those agencies need to be shown the way out because they do not fit into the changes that are currently going on. That is why the president is finding it difficult to implement his policies.  That is why the benefits of the reforms have been slow in coming.

“Another reason why we are not seeing the benefits of the reform is because our products are now being smuggled out without being captured as exports. Nigerians now take their products to neighbouring countries like Benin, Niger and Chad without going through the official channel. However, we have a dry port in Kebbi that is now going to legalise such trade. A similar development took place in Badagry when traders were educated on the imperatives of going through the official trade channel so that it could be incorporated into the GDP. When we have these trades going through the official channel, we are earning foreign currencies, whether in yen, dollar, pounds or CFA, which is now much higher than the naira. Before now, rice and other edible commodities were being brought into the country from neighbouring countries; now it is the opposite because our currency has lost value. But the problem is that they are being smuggled out through unofficial channels.”

Maberu said he is happy that Dr Jumoke Oduwole has been appointed as a minister at last. He told The Nation: “She has been behind the scenes within the corridors of power for some years now and has an understanding of how the Ministry of Trade operates. What should be encouraged at this point is to support our small and medium-sized enterprises. An economy that wants to grow must also grow its micro businesses; its kitchen businesses, otherwise known as micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME). Kitchen businesses, which is the smallest business unit, have been added to the MSME category. There must be support for such small businesses because they are the bedrock of any economic growth. We expect that support to come in a form that would be beneficial to small businesses, as we have seen elsewhere around the world. Here, we like stories of success, but we should not do away with stories of failure because it is a pointer to a man who is making an effort. Such a man should be commended and assisted to succeed, as it is done in South Korea.”                

The idea of setting up a full-fledged livestock ministry has been described as a move in the right direction to deconstruct the Ministry of Agriculture, which has become a behemoth that has not been impactful over the years. The creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development did not come as a surprise, considering that the president earlier inaugurated a Livestock Reform Committee and received a report from the Attahiru Jega-led committee. The report is expected to guide the activities of the newly created ministry. He had also at a recent event, indicated that his government plans to enhance meat and dairy production and mitigate the violent clashes between herders and farmers.

Observers believe it is a crucial part of the agricultural value chain, which has the potential to add critical value to the country’s GDP and socio-economic development. For instance, The Nation columnist, Baba Yusuf said the new ministry will help to resolve the perennial farmers/herders’ clashes and impact positively on the country’s social justice and social development. He said the development will give the Minister of Agriculture time to focus on the other important aspects of the agricultural value chain. However, he urges the president to push the ministers to deliver, “because it’s a sector that is crucial to food security, economic recovery and sustainability”.

A commentator on national affairs, Zayyad I. Muhammad said the minister-designate for Livestock Development, Idi Muktar Maiha, believes Muktar will succeed if he demonstrates effective leadership that addresses the needs of the people. He said: “With an impressive curriculum vitae as a technocrat, along with practical knowledge of livestock management, Mukhtar’s Zaidi Farm stands out as a well-integrated enterprise that applies world-class best practices in animal husbandry. Given this background, we expect him to introduce innovative approaches to livestock management by benchmarking against countries renowned for their success in this field, such as New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Brazil, Ireland, and the United States.

“However, he faces a difficult and tasking job in three key ways. First, the Ministry of Livestock Development is newly established, and expectations from Nigerians are high. The ministry is tasked with overseeing and developing livestock policies, managing animal health and disease, improving breeds and genetic resources, enhancing husbandry and production systems, supporting rural livelihoods, and modernizing livestock marketing and trade. There would be expectations will focus on how he will transform the lives of nomadic cattle herders from being uneducated and nomadic to leading more settled, normal lives, while also addressing the farmer-herder conflict, as well as the notorious practices of cattle rustling, banditry, and kidnapping for ransom, which are prevalent among some cattle herders.”

He said Mukhtar’s second challenge lies in his background; he has spent most of his career as a technocrat at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He added: “Whether he is aware of it or not, he will inevitably experience the bitter-sweet realities of politics. Once appointed as a minister, one automatically assumes a political role. Mukhtar will need to navigate this transition, deciding whether to embrace full-time politics or attempt to balance his technocratic expertise with his political responsibilities.”

With regard to security, the government has not done badly. There is a consensus that the military has acquitted itself well in the war against terror in the Northeast, with the killings of dozens of foot soldiers of Boko Haram and ISWAP in recent military offensives. This is believed to have depleted the manpower of the terrorists and put them under pressure to express their presence through suicide bombers. “The terrorists’ capacity to make and use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) has been severely crippled. Almost 65 per cent of their senior operatives have been taken out, hence the use of suicide bombers against innocent citizens,” a retired military officer, Sani Usman was quoted as saying.

However, Dr Akhimien, a former National President of the Association of Licensed Private Security Practitioners of Nigeria (ALPSPN), blamed the incessant cases of kidnapping in the country on the political class, saying they deliberately polarised the polity for selfish ends because “they failed to condemn in clear language the actions of the perpetrators and act justifiably by going after them and bringing them to book”.

The retired military intelligence officer has given an elaborate exposition from his repertoire of knowledge about how the rising number of mass kidnappings can be curbed. He said government must be strategic in its effort, by adopting a multi-pronged approach to stamp out the menace. He said: “However, no approach can succeed without the political will at the level of the Federal Government and the affected state governments. The Federal Government, which exercises control over the security apparatus, must at this point design a collaborative template involving all security agencies, with a clear mandate for each and reporting lines ending at the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), who should coordinate the Special Anti-Kidnap Operations.

“The office of the Department of State Services (DSS) should embark on infiltration measures, intensifying information gathering towards identifying locations of the marauding force, identifying dramatis personae/leaders and sponsors, sources of equipment, arms, ammunitions and rations of the marauders, and produce intelligence from these critical items of information for further action by the topmost echelon of the operations. The police could work with the information so provided as it relates to the arrest, detention, and interrogation of arrested key suspects, either of the foot soldiers or the sponsors. The revelations from this exercise will aid in further tracking the kidnappers.

“The army special forces and others trained in jungle warfare can then be deployed to engage the criminals wherever credible intelligence identifies them to be anywhere in the country. Each case should be isolated in order not to spread the force thin. As each band of bandits is neutralized and routed, the Special Forces move to the next location of assignment. Adequate logistical support must be made available to this special force. The operations must be strictly military and not politicised.”

The retired military intelligence officer said the Airforce must provide air support to these ground forces, ranging from air surveillance of locations and hideouts, aerial bombardments as necessary, satellite imagery of movements within camps and air-to-surface communication for proper coordination of the joint operations. In addition, he said Customs must be provided with high-tech fixed and movable scanning assets to be deployed at entry points into the country, especially at those fringes where we experience a preponderance of bandits’ incursions with small and light weapons. “The manpower levels of custom officers at these points should be shored up to enable a deterrence posture and avail officers of reinforcements in case of eventualities,”

He also enjoined immigration officers to show greater patriotism in the discharge of their mandates at entry into the country. He said: “With our extensive borders, especially at the northern fringes, the service must embrace available technology in the surveillance of persons and groups crossing unmanned portions of our extensive borders. The service needs to be equipped with more helicopters for routine border patrol at this stage in the evolution of our nation’s security challenges; the Federal Government may need to consider establishing a special border patrol organization with officers drawn from relevant agencies with the necessary skill set and tool-set for the job. Such officers would be made to undergo requisite training to suit them for the onerous task at hand.”

In summary, returning and new ministers should be tasked with formulating action plans for each of the items in the government’s Renewed Hope agenda to ensure alignment with the president’s vision for responsive governance. Observers have spoken of the need for regular progress reviews and inter-ministerial collaborations as a crucial factor for success. Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” agenda focuses on several key areas aimed at national development and governance improvement. The central themes include strategies to boost economic growth, attract investments, and create jobs. It also involves initiatives for supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and enhancing infrastructure. It also includes security enhancement, which entails addressing security challenges through improved funding and resources for law enforcement, community engagement, and addressing root causes of unrest; healthcare reform, initiatives to enhance the quality of education, through promoting vocational training, and ensuring access to educational resources for all; as well as youth empowerment, among other things. Each minister would be expected to align their specific initiatives and policies with these overarching goals to drive the agenda forward effectively.