Tinubu to create new ministry to tackle farmer/herder clash
An insider disclosed that the new ministry is expected to lead efforts to address the ongoing...
Tinubu to create new ministry to tackle farmer/herder clash
Story from Usman UMAR
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is preparing to make changes to his cabinet in the near future, which will involve appointing new ministers and establishing a new ministry.
Sources revealed that the new ministry will focus on livestock development, a sector previously under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to advance the administration’s livestock master plan.
The Livestock Master Plan of Nigeria, initiated last August, aims to guide the growth of the livestock industry, which contributes about one-third of the agricultural sector’s 21% share of the national GDP.
An insider disclosed that the new ministry is expected to lead efforts to address the ongoing
conflicts between farmers and herders, which have had a negative impact on food security and resulted in loss of lives and property.
Another source suggested that the president’s plan to establish ranching as a solution to the issue prompted the creation of the new ministry, which would involve state governments providing land for the federal government for the project.
Sources revealed that in addition to creating the new ministry, the cabinet reshuffle will involve appointing state ministers to ministries that currently have only one minister, in response to criticisms of an excessively large cabinet.
The president justified the initial size of the 48-member cabinet, arguing that combining ministries to save money would lead to inefficiency and lack of results.
Read also: Tinubu reassigns ministers portfolios, renames Ministry of Environment
The upcoming changes will also include appointing ministers to ministries that currently only have a minister of state, such as Labour and Employment, as well as appointing a new minister for the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, which has been without a minister since January 8.
Furthermore, the assessment of ministers’ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) by the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman, may influence the president’s decisions on who to retain or replace.
While the citizens’ delivery tracker launched by the government will be used to evaluate ministerial performance, it is not the sole factor considered in assessing the ministers’ KPIs.
It was also revealed that some ministers of state are being considered for promotion, and it is likely that some ministers will be replaced.