Tinubu Splits Petroleum Ministry, Appoints 2 State Ministers
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assigned portfolios to 45 ministers confirmed penultimate Monday by the Senate.
The list of portfolios announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, showed the split of some ministries and the creation of new ones.
Some ministries also get more tasks with added appellations.
For instance, the president split the Ministry of Petroleum Resources with the appointment of Ekperipe Ekpo as Minister of State, Gas Resources.
Heineken Lokpobiri is equally appointed Minister of State, Petroleum Resources.
It is not clear if President Tinubu will retain the position of senior Minister of Petroleum.
His predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, oversaw the affairs of the ministry during his eight-year tenure.
Also divided are the ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as Works and Housing with Wale Edun as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.
David Umahi and Ahmed M. Dangiwa are now substantive ministers in the ministries of Works as well as Housing & Urban Development respectively. Abdullahi T. Gwarzo is the Minister of State, Housing & Urban Development.
The erstwhile Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has also been split into two and placed under the supervision of John Enoh as Minister of Sports Development and Abubakar Momoh, Minister of Youth.
A former governor of Rivers State and leader of G5 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors, Nyesom Wike, who worked for the victory of Tinubu, was appointed Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Surprisingly, Dele Alake, a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State under the then Governor Tinubu, touted to man the Ministry of Information, was eventually assigned to supervise the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.