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Update : Cabinet Reshuffle, Non-performing ministers face sack and FEC members get order to speak on achievements, Says Onanuga
After more than one year in office, some of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ministers are likely to be axed.
Some others may swap ministries as the President moves to add pep to governance.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga confirmed the likelihood of the cabinet rejig yesterday during an interaction with reporters at Aso Villa.
He did not, however, give a timeline to the imminent action that will shake up the Federal Executive Council (FEC) inaugurated on August 21, last year.
There were 49 ministers at inception but two – Simeon Lalong, who left to take his seat as a senator and Dr. Betta Edu, who is on suspension – are out.
While the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs previously headed by Dr. Edu has been without a minister, Mrs. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, Minister for State Labour and Employment, has been doing the job.
Plateau, where Lalong comes from, is the only state without representation in the FEC.
The President has expressed his desire to reshuffle his cabinet and he will do it. I don’t know whether he’s going to do it before October 1, but he will surely do it.
“He has not given us any timeline, but he will do it. He has expressed his plan he wants to do it.”
O’tega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, who accompanied Onanuga to the news conference, said: “We also need to realise that the President’s decision to reshuffle is also based on empirical evidence.
“He said during the retreat for the ministers that they were going to have periodic reviews, and the decisions that are extracted from these reviews will be used to make that final decision.
“I know he’s gotten a couple of reports, and as Mr. Onanuga said, when he’s ready to do that, I believe he will.”
President Tinubu has instructed the ministers to actively promote the accomplishments of his administration.
He said the President has also directed the ministers to publicise the administration’s successes, particularly how it has worked to achieve the realisation of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda.’
He explained that the President would be guided by an empirical process, referring to the performance indicator, which is being coordinated by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination and the Head of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit, Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman.
Onanuga stressed: “The President at the FEC meeting (Monday) gave an order to all his ministers to go out there and speak about the activities of his administration.
“Some of them have been media shy, television shy, radio shy, and he wants them to overcome all that and go out there and speak about what they have been doing.
“Because the feeling out there is that the government is not doing enough and the government has been doing a lot.
“It is up to them to go out there and blow their own trumpet. They should go out there and talk about what their ministries have been doing.”
‘Fed Govt won’t dabble into petrol pricing’
The Federal Government will not intervene in the ongoing controversy between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Dangote Refinery over petrol pricing, the presidency said.
Onanuga emphasised that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) allows NNPCL to operate independently, despite being owned by the federal, state, and local governments.
According to Onanuga, private marketers who find NNPCL or Dangote’s prices too high can import fuel and sell it at a reasonable price, benefiting consumers.
He noted that this is made possible by the deregulated market, which ultimately benefits consumers if a price war starts.
“As far as this government is concerned, the PMS regime has been deregulated, Dangote is a private company. We should not forget that NNPCL is a limited liability company. Whatever controversy both of them are having is their problem.
“If you go by the terms of PIA, NNPCL operates as a limited liability company.
“The private marketers said if think they find the NNPCL or Dangote’s prices too much for them, they will resort to importing fuel because it’s a deregulated market.
“At the end of the day, it’s the consumer who benefits if a price war starts.
“If NNPC’s fuel is expensive, the private marketers can go to the market and bring in their fuel and sell at the price that they think is very reasonable and profitable for them.
“So my answer is that, as far as government is concerned, government is not dabbling in this controversy,” Onanuga said.
Economic Stabilisation Bills to strengthen naira
The government has taken bold steps to bolster the naira against the dollar with the Economic Stabilisation Bills currently before the National Assembly, the presidency said.
An aspect of the bills aims to guide the operations of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Port Authority, ensuring that all accrued revenues are collected in naira.
Onanuga said the bill will enable agencies to collect fees, charges, levies, and fines in naira at the applicable exchange rate, rather than solely in dollars.
This move is part of the government’s efforts to strengthen the national currency and prevent dollarisation of the economy.
“As the government wants to emphasise the use of our national currency, payments will now be made in naira, eliminating the need for dollars,” Onanuga explained.
He said the Economic Stabilisation Bills also propose amendments to the National Identity Commission Bill 2004.
The revised bill seeks to provide all Nigerians, including foreigners earning income in the country, with a registered National Identification Number (NIN).
This will enable them to be enlisted in Nigeria’s tax structure, ultimately shoring up the nation’s revenue base.
“The Economic Stabilisation Bill comprises multiple bills, including the amendment to the National Identity Management Commission Bill 2004,” Onanuga noted.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu visit France President (yesterday
The two nations struck the deal during a “production lunch” at Élysée Palace by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and President Emmanuel Macron.
President Tinubu, who is on a 10-day working vacation in Europe made this agreement known through his verified X Handle @officialABAT.
He wrote: “Had a productive lunch with President Emmanuel Macron today(yesterday) at the Élysée Palace. We reviewed key areas of cooperation between Nigeria and France and agreed to deepen our partnership for mutual prosperity and global stability.”
The meeting underscores Tinubu’s continued diplomatic outreach during his time away from Abuja, with an emphasis on consolidating Nigeria’s strategic partnerships with France, one of its longstanding allies in trade, security, and development.
The Élysée Palace meeting adds to a growing record of high-level engagements between the two countries, which have in recent years broadened cooperation in energy, counterterrorism, climate action and investment promotion.
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$2 billion Fraud : Kyari, being probed over funding of the repair work on refineries, others, Says EFCC
Ex-GCEO: I have nothing to hide
Former Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kolo Kyari, is being probed over funding of the repair work on refineries.
He was taken before investigators at the Abuja Headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday.
As of 8:30pm, he had not been allowed to go, raising suspicion whether or not he was detained.
Under investigation, according to sources at the anti-graft agency, are:
•How the over $2 billion meant for Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM) was spent: The money, it was learnt, was made available, thus: $1.55 billion to the Port Harcourt Refinery; $740.6 million (Kaduna Refinery) and $656.9 million (Warri Refinery).
•The contracts awarded during his tenure:
Kyari, before submitting himself to interrogation, had always insisted he had nothing to hide.
In a statement on his invitation, titled: “Hard questions, honest answers”, Kyari said: “I have done my part; the EFCC must do theirs. When each of us does our duty – without fear of favor, with honour, respect and commitment – Nigeria moves forward.”
On arrival at the EFCC headquarters, his international passport was seized.
The four state-run refineries are: Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) (2); Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).
They have installed capacity to produce 445,000 barrels per day (bpd)
The two Port Harcourt refineries have a combined capacity of 210,000 barrels per day (bpd), Warri has a capacity of 125,000 bpd and Kaduna has 110,000 bpd.
But the refineries remained non-functional for years despite several attempts to refurbish them.
About $18 billion has been sunk into TAM since 2010 but the refineries were still in poor state.
According to an EFCC source, Kyari was asked to “state how much was voted for TAM during his tenure, what was expended and the balance, if any.
“Detectives were also curious to know how N4.8 trillion was incurred as operating costs on the refineries when they weren’t working.
“The most crucial aspect of the investigation is why the refineries broke down shortly after repairs.
“Some of his former top officials have refunded money to the EFCC from TAM cash. Kyari is to explain what he knew about how the slush funds came about.”
The source said: “After the probe of TAM, Kyari will proceed to the second phase of the investigation, which is about the humongous contracts awarded during his tenure.
“So far, we have seized his international passport to limit his movement to the country in the course of investigation.”
TAM has been a major money pit of NNPC in the last three years, in particular.
On June 24, 2022, the Federal Executive Council awarded Maintenance Services for Quick Fix Repairs of Warri Refinery to Daewoo Engineering and Construction Limited at $497, 328, 500.
The contract was different from the 2017 job award to Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited for Tech Plant Survey of Warri and Kaduna Refineries at 2, 025, 000.32 Euros.
The rehabilitation of the Kaduna Refinery and Petro-Chemical Company (KRPC) had, in the past 10 years, gulped N2.26 billion.
The NNPCL approved a renovation deal with Daewoo Engineering and Construction Limited to renovate Kaduna Refinery in February 2023 to restore the refinery to production of 110,000 barrels of petrol per day and at least 60 per cent capacity by early last year.
Kyari was appointed NNPCL GCEO in 2019 and served till April 2, when his appointment was terminated.
On August 28, Kyari’s successor, Bayo Ojulari, said Nigeria lost between $300 million and $500 million monthly while the Port Harcourt Refinery was operating.
He said: “When I resumed, one of the first priorities I focused on was the refinery. I did a quick review to see if we could quickly fix it. What I found is that we were losing between $300 million to $500 million on a monthly basis in the refinery.
“We were pumping about 50,000 barrels of crude to go into the refinery. What was coming out was less than 40 per cent equivalent of what was coming in.”
Ojulari spoke in his Abuja office when he met with the leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
After years of being in comatose, the NNPCL restarted the Port Harcourt Refinery in November, 2024. Kyari announced the reopening of the facility to a huge applause by Nigerians, but the operation was halted in May, barely one month after Ojulari’s resumption.
Ojulari said he halted the operation of the refinery to prevent further losses, and work towards a sustainable arrangement.
Ojulari explained: “The first thing we said was rather than continue to lose, let’s quickly stop and look for a way to put this refinery into a sustainably profitable venture.”
He said the NNPCL was working to revive the moribund refineries to operate at full capacity by adopting the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) model (Public, Private, Partnership), which PENGASSAN advocated during the meeting.
The NNPCL chief said talks were on to find a viable solution to the refining crisis, ensuring the refineries become a sustainably profitable venture.
He said the national oil company had concluded a technical review for the three refineries, pointing out that the long term neglect and lack of maintenance were major reasons behind the huge losses recorded monthly, despite the huge investments to make them work.
The NNPCL chief, who explained that a lot of money has been spent on the refineries, admitted that it has been challenging to translate those funds into profitability.
He likened the situation of the refineries to parking an old car for some time without any greasing and oiling. He added that the Port Harcourt Refinery has been difficult to put back because of years of neglect and it’s been difficult: when you fix one thing, the other thing is still there.
President Bola Tinubu, with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, during a working private lunch at the Elysee Palace, Paris. Wednesday, September 10, 2025
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