-Deborah Akinyosoye
President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council have announced the scrapping of the Niger Delta Ministry and the Ministry of Sports Development.
According to a tweet by the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday, the decision was reached during the FEC meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday.
The statement read, “President Tinubu and Federal Executive Council scrap Niger Delta Ministry and the Ministry of sports development.
“There will now be a ministry of regional development to oversee all the regional development commissions, such as Niger Delta Development Commission, North West Development Commission, South West Development Commission, North East Development Commission.”
He also said the responsibilities previously held by the Ministry of Sports Development will now be transferred to the National Sports Commission, which will take charge of sports-related activities in Nigeria.
“The National Sports Commission will take over the role of the Ministry of Sports,” he stated.
Additionally, the FEC approved the merger of the Ministry of Tourism with the Ministry of Culture and Creative Economy, creating a single entity.
Onanuga’s announcement did not specify the fate of the current ministers in charge of the dissolved ministries or outline how their duties would be reassigned.
Abubakar Momoh has been overseeing the Niger Delta Ministry, while John Enoh served as the Minister of Sports Development.
This move comes amid increasing demands to streamline government structures and reduce the expenses associated with maintaining numerous ministries and political positions.
At a three-day retreat for cabinet members and presidential aides last November, Tinubu introduced a Central Delivery Coordination Unit, led by his Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman.
The unit was tasked with monitoring and evaluating the performance of ministers and senior government officials.
Tinubu emphasised that these regular performance assessments would play a crucial role in deciding which officials would remain in the cabinet.
“If you are performing, nothing to fear. If you miss the objective, we’ll review it. If no performance, you leave us. No one is an island and the buck stops on my desk,” he said.