Ministers and presidential aides may get an unpleasant New Year gift next week, as President Goodluck Jonathan may dissolve the Federal Executive Council on December 31, 2013.
Daily Sun gathered that Jonathan had been contemplating sacking the cabinet, so that fresh blood would be injected for the remaining part of the administration, which would terminate on May 29, 2015.
Competent sources revealed that in the shake-up, ministers, who have political ambition in 2015 would be asked to go as well as others whose performance was considered below average. Some of the minister, who would be retained, would be assigned new portfolios.
It was gathered that Jonathan was planning to constitute a cabinet, in the New Year, that would have a mix of technocrats and strong politicians, who would help him in his transformation agenda.
Sources revealed, however, that Jonathan was wary of the events in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Assembly, which had, in the last couple of weeks, witnessed defection of members to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
Daily Sun gathered that in as much as the president wants to sack the cabinet, he is afraid of perceived political backlash this may have on the PDP, which had suffered defection of its members in the last couple of weeks.
Five governors of the PDP had recently defected to APC. They are Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa).
Last week, 37 PDP members in the House of Representatives also defected to APC. The lawmakers are mainly from Kano, Adamawa, Rivers, Kwara and Sokoto.
Jonathan, had, last September fired nine ministers, in his first move to reshuffle the cabinet.
The affected ministers in the shake-up were: Shamsudeen Usman (National Planning); Ita Okon (Science and Technology); Hadiza Mailafia (Environment); Ruqayat Rufai (Education); Zainab Kunchi (Power, state); Olugbenga Ashiru (Foreign Affairs); Ama Pepple (Lands) Buka Tijani (Agriculture, state) and Olusola Obada (Defence, state).
The Information Minister, Labaran Maku, said President Jonathan expressed satisfaction and appreciation to the sacked ministers for the excellent ways they had handled their offices, and that he assured them that he would engage them in other national assignments whenever opportunities arise.
Maku, while briefing newsmen, on the sack of the ministers, stated that Jonathan had promised to forward a new list of minister nominees to the Senate for confirmation.
He had announced that the president had mandated the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwiliri to supervise the activities of the ministry, while the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Wike, would oversee the office of the sacked minister.
He also announced that Jonathan had appointed Minister for Niger Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe to oversee the activities of the Ministry of Environment, while Minister of Solid Mineral would look after the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development.
In the same vein, Minister of Communication Technology was mandated to supervise the Ministry of Science and Technology, while Maku would oversee the Ministry of Defence. Minister of State for Works was appointed supervisor for Ministry of National Planning.
The sack of the minister came barely one month after Jonathan made public procedure through which minister could be rated, in what was known as Performance Contract Agreement.
He had stated: “I read all kinds of thing in the media, that the president wants to assess the ministers, so that he would know who would go and who would stay. That is not the purpose of this. We would have done it probably in the first week when we came on board, but the key thing is that we have given ourselves points that we think we will get at; we believe that if we get at those points or even if we achieve 70 per cent of that, at least it will be better off for our own country.”
One month after this, nine ministers were fired, amid speculations that it was prompted by the crisis rocking the PDP. Some of the sacked ministers were believed to be loyal to seven aggrieved PDP governors, who had walked out at the special national convention of the PDP and set up a parallel exco.
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