Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South in Nigeria’s National Assembly, has called on President Bola Tinubu to intensify his cabinet shake-up by dismissing more underperforming ministers.
Ndume, a senior lawmaker, highlighted this in a statement released in Abuja on October 26, 2024. The statement lauded the President’s recent ministerial changes but urged further action to align with the administration’s ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda.
“The President has taken a commendable step by restructuring his cabinet, but some ministers are still not up to the task,” Ndume remarked.
He praised Tinubu’s decision to replace five ministers, reassign ten others, and establish the Ministry of Regional Development, which succeeded the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. Ndume sees these moves as initial steps toward more effective governance.
Adding to his recommendations, Ndume suggested that President Tinubu convene a national economic summit to generate viable solutions to the nation’s economic challenges.
He proposed a line-up of respected Nigerian economists and former ministers, including former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former education minister Oby Ezekwesili, Akinwumi Adesina, Mansur Muktar, Arunma Oteh, and economist Tope Fasua.
“This national economic summit should be purely led by these eminent Nigerians, and they will come up with recommendations instead of the IMF and World Bank’s prescriptions that are harsh and hard on the ordinary citizens,” he stated, emphasising the importance of home-grown solutions to avoid external economic pressures.
Ndume also praised Tinubu’s initiatives to reduce the cost of governance and urged other branches of government to follow suit.
He believes that expert recommendations from a home-led summit would provide Nigeria with the strategic direction it needs, especially amidst rising economic hardships.
The Senator closed by affirming his confidence in President Tinubu’s willingness to adopt viable recommendations from Nigerian experts to drive sustainable economic progress.