The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party, and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have strongly criticised the performance of President Bola Tinubu’s ministers, branding their first year in office as a “monumental failure.” The 45 ministers were sworn in on August 21, 2023, at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, marking the beginning of their tenure.
While some ministers have highlighted their achievements to commemorate their first anniversary, opposition parties argue that the Tinubu administration has significantly damaged Nigeria’s economy through policies they describe as anti-people.
Debo Ologunagba, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, accused President Tinubu and his ministers of exacerbating the suffering of Nigerians. He criticised the administration for running a bloated cabinet, which he claims encourages corruption.
“The government has failed, and by extension, the ministers have failed,” Ologunagba stated. “Today, petroleum products are scarce, everybody is suffering, there is insecurity, life expectancy has dropped, there is no medical care, the roads are not safe, and infrastructure is decaying. The ministers are marking monumental failure, an increase in hunger, and an increase in poverty. There is pain and anguish in the land. That is the report card of the government and its ministers.”
Yunusa Tanko, campaign spokesman for the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, dismissed any potential cabinet reshuffle as futile. He argued that the systemic decay under Tinubu’s administration results from what he described as an “almost zero performance level” by the ministers.
“Whether he [Tinubu] rejigs the cabinet or not, the result will be the same. The decay in the system results from the almost zero performance level of the ministers because Nigerians are not feeling the impact of governance,” Tanko said. “As far as we are concerned, there is an abysmal performance, lack of empathy, consideration, and love for the Nigerian people, which has found us in this particular quagmire in which we are going through.”
Ladipo Johnson, spokesman for the NNPP, echoed these sentiments, describing the ministers’ performance as falling short of Nigerians’ expectations. He advised President Tinubu to consider a cabinet reshuffle to address these shortcomings.
As Tinubu’s administration faces mounting criticism, the opposition parties’ condemnation highlights widespread dissatisfaction with the government’s performance and calls for significant changes in policy and governance.
