Meet Bianca Ojukwu, Oduwole, Five Other Ministerial Nominees

The much-awaited cabinet reshuffle of President Bola Tinubu began on Wednesday with the sacking of five ministers and the nomination of seven new ones for Senate confirmation.

The President also re-assigned 10 ministers to new ministerial portfolios and appointed seven new ministers for Senate confirmation.

Tinubu nominated Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu as the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, while Nentawe Yilwatda as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, officially bringing an end to the tenure of suspended Betta Edu.

The President also nominated Maigari Dingyadi as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Jumoke Oduwole as the Minister of Industry, Idi Maiha as Minister for the newly created Livestock Development Ministry, Yusuf Ata as the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, and Suwaiba Ahmad as Minister of State Education.

The President sacked Uju-Ken Ohanenye as Minister of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John as Minister of Tourism; Tahir Mamman as Minister of Education; Abdullahi Gwarzo as Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development; and Jamila Ibrahim as Minister of Youth Development.

The President appreciated the outgoing members of the Federal Executive Council for their service to the nation while wishing them the best in their future endeavours.

He then charged the newly appointed ministers as well as their reassigned colleagues to see their appointment as a call to serve the nation.

He added that all appointees must understand the administration’s eagerness and determination to set Nigeria on the path to irreversible growth and invest the best of their abilities into the actualisation of the government’s priorities.

Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, appointed 48 ministers in August 2023, three months after his inauguration. The Senate immediately screened and confirmed the ministers. One of the ministers, Betta Edu, was suspended in January while another, Simon Lalong, moved to the Senate.

There have been calls for the President to reshuffle his cabinet, as many Nigerians have not been impressed by the performance of some of the ministers, especially in the face of unprecedented inflation, excruciating economic situation and rising insecurity.

In September, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the President would reshuffle his cabinet but didn’t give a time to the reorganisation.

Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu

Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is an accomplished diplomat, lawyer, businesswoman and beauty pageant titleholder.

In 2011, then President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Bianca as Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs. She later became Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ghana and later Ambassador to the Kingdom Of Spain. She is Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

The widow of former Biafra warlord Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu is a multiple international pageant titleholder.

Maigari Dingyadi

Previously a Minister of Police Affairs from August 2019 to May 2023, Sokoto-born Dingyadi graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in 1978.

Politically, Dingyadi once represented Bodinga Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, He is a former Secretary to the Sokoto State Government and Chairman National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) Abuja.

Jumoke Oduwole

Oduwole is an academic, advisor, and speaker. She served as Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Ease of Doing Business from August 2019 to May 2023.

Before her appointment to this role, Jumoke was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade & Investment in the Office of the Vice President.

She is currently on leave of absence from the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Nigeria, where she is a Senior Lecturer.

Nentawe Yilwatda

From Plateau State, Yilwatda is a registered engineer with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), a community developer, and a lecturer with the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State.

Yilwatda was appointed Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017 and posted to Benue State as Resident Electoral Commissioner.

Idi Maiha

Maiha is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kaduna-based Zaidi Farms Limited. He is also a former Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.

Yusuf Ata

An accomplished teacher, Ata was a former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly.

Between 2003 and 2007, Ata was appointed Special Adviser to Kano State Governor on Assembly Matters and later was appointed as Special Adviser on Inter-Governmental Affairs.

Suwaiba Ahmad

Ahmad is a trained educationist and gender advocate. She is a lecturer at Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, and is currently the Director of its Centre for Gender Studies.

She has served the university in different positions, including level coordinator, examination officer, PG coordinator, Sub Dean Academics, and head of Department Science Education.