As President Bola Tinubu hints at a potential reshuffle of his 47-man cabinet, political analysts and observers are closely watching for the implications of such changes on governance.
In this week’s edition of the Mic on Podcast, with Seun Okinbaloye, Kayode Ogundamisi, a prominent political analyst speaks on the significance of assessing the current ministers’ performance, a move, he believes, could help the president regain the confidence of the populace,
“I think the planned cabinet reshuffle is an acknowledgment that the current team put together are not delivering on the promises that he gave to Nigerians.”
The cabinet reshuffle is not the only pressing issue facing the administration. A controversy involving officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Prison Service has emerged, which further exposes the rot in the system. The scandal was ignited by a leaked audio involving cross-dresser Bobrisky, raising questions about the operations of the EFCC’s investigations. Ogundamisi highlighted the urgency of addressing the flaws in Nigeria’s correctional system,
“What this Bobrisky’s scandal has done is to draw attention to the urgent need for us to have a quick review of the correctional service system (in the country).”
In the same vein, Legal expert Henry Eni-Otu also weighed in on the Bobrisky situation, noting the complexities of the legal implications, further asserting that the individual who recorded the audio holds significant relevance in the case “The criminal implication (defamation) is that you may go to prison or pay a fine. The civil implication is that you could pay damages and equally make public apologies and other injunctive orders. Without mincing words, the most important person in this whole issue would be the same person who had the voice call with Bobrisky, not Bobrisky himself.”
While Ogundamisi pointed out that the recent mishandling of charges against Bobrisky illustrates a deeper systemic issue, he further called for an open investigation into the allegations, “The miscarriage of justice (dropped charges of money laundering on Bobrisky by the EFCC) is the most serious aspect that as a nation, we need to sit up and look into. The EFCC should make the (Bobrisky’s alleged case) investigation open. The members of the public need to know (what is going on).”
Meanwhile, Eni-Otu supported this sentiment, emphasizing that it doesn’t matter whether the evidence was obtained legally, as
“it doesn’t matter whether VDM obtained the evidence (voice note record) under the Nigerian law.”
In discussing the cabinet reshuffle, Ogundamisi expressed that it is not too late for President Tinubu to make impactful changes, suggesting that he needs to consider a diverse team, “I think the plan (to reshuffle the president’s cabinet) is timely. It’s not too late. I think it will benefit him in regaining the confidence of the (Nigerian) people. President Tinubu needs to honestly look out to get a proper team, even if it will come from his enemies, so long as they are going to do the job.”
While his analysis of the current administration’s challenges extends beyond personnel changes, the political analyst therefore warned on the need for a fundamental shift in governance style, “The president himself needs to change his way of governance. He needs to change how he talks to Nigerians. If not, he would be a first-term president where while he is changing his ministers now, Nigerians might end up changing him in the next general election.”
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