A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former gubernatorial candidate in Kebbi State, Mallam Salihu Isa Nataro, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reshuffle his cabinet by replacing underperforming ministers in order to strengthen his administration ahead of 2027.

In a statement signed in Abuja on Monday, Nataro, a public finance expert, said while the President’s economic policies are yielding positive results, only a radical overhaul of the Federal Cabinet would reinvigorate the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He specifically advised President Tinubu not to retain any minister whose continued stay in the cabinet could raise questions about the government’s credibility.

Referring to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, the public sector reforms advocate suggested that the President should consider redeploying him if security assessments indicated that his presence in the cabinet could pose reputational risks.

“The President has recorded tremendous achievements alone, without adequate complementary helping hands from his cabinet, where about 85 per cent of them do not know enough about his policy directions, but rather sitting down like dead horses in a jungle,” Nataro said.

He recommended that Tinubu’s next FCT Minister should review and possibly revoke part of the land allocations made under Wike to ease public tension, stressing that transparency in land administration was crucial at a time when Nigeria was witnessing renewed inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI).

“Things are looking up in the area of Foreign Direct Investment due to President Tinubu’s singular international travels. I am happy that the President agreed with my suggestion for local production of military soft and hardware, as well as infrastructure development which will ease the nation’s economy,” he added.

Nataro further called on the President to prioritise food security over excessive military spending, recalling that after he had earlier advised a focus on Nigeria’s food basket, an Air Force bombing in Katsina mistakenly killed villagers during a wedding, fuelling public anger.

“The masses that blame President Tinubu for hunger do so due to lack of adequate information to rural areas about the true situation of government policies,” he explained.

He also criticised some state governors for not properly directing increased federal allocations to critical projects, insisting that many Nigerians remained in poverty despite rising inflows from the centre.

“Some of the governors have refused to channel the money to areas of need and priority projects, while the masses continue to wallow in poverty,” he said.

The reform advocate commended Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, for recalling Tinubu’s economic foresight as Lagos governor, which contributed to the establishment of the Dangote Refinery.

On the controversy over Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) crops, Nataro urged Nigerians to embrace scientific advances rather than emulate Burkina Faso’s military leader, Ibrahim Traoré, who opposed them. He argued that supporting innovation was key to reshaping Nigeria into a digital economy.

He further advised the President to demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption while giving heed to constructive criticism from public intellectuals such as Sam Amadi, Bolaji Akinyemi, and Farooq Kperogi.

“Tinubu is a listening President,” he said, expressing hope that a reshuffled cabinet of competent technocrats and reform-minded politicians would drive the administration to new heights and boost its case for continuity beyond 2027. (Vanguard)