Tinubu doubles as President, Petroleum Minister

President Bola Tinubu, on assigning ministerial portfolios to the confirmed nominees by the Senate, retained the Minister of Petroleum Resources.

Checks by National Daily Newspaper found that apparently, President Tinubu while being the Executive President of the Federal Republic and Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, also holds the portfolio of the Minster of Petroleum Resources, and by extension, gas resources.

Both petroleum resources and gas resources are now in separated ministerial administration under the supervision of the president.

This was the same tradition for which former President Muhammadu Buhari was held accountable for the woes in the oil and gas sector of the Nigerian economy in his two terms of eight years in office.

President Tinubu, however, assigned the portfolio of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources to Heineken Lokpobiri.

Further checks by National Daily Newspaper found that President made relative modifications in the ministerial appointments, separating some ministries.

Accordingly, the President appointed a Minister of State, Gas Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo, separating the department from the ministry of petroleum resources as it was in the past.

The President also appointed a Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Bunmi Tunji, distinct from the ministry of agriculture.

The ministry of sports development was also  separated from youth development, while a Minister was appointed for Tourism, Lola Ade-John, as a department, among others.

The President is, however, yet to make three more ministerial appointments, as the three rejected nominees by the Senate are yet to be replaced.

President Tinubu appointed ministers of state for…, junior minsters, which Festus Keyamo SAN vehemently protested at the end of the Buhari administration. Keyamo, however, received the appointment of a senior minister in the Tinubu administration.

The President also brought in a seeming paradigm shift in the appointment of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), former Governor Nyesom Wike, breaking away from the status quo of FCT minister being dominated by the north.

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Meanwhile, the inauguration of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) by the President is being awaited.

Ministerial list with portfolios