Ministers are supposed to complement the president of any country as they are meant to implement the policies of his or her government.
When President Muhammadu Buhari spent six months scouting the whole country looking for competent men and women to appoint as his ministers, Nigerians felt he knew exactly what he was doing and that the people he would finally settle for would be people who will hit the ground running.
But close to two years after they were sworn in, some of these ministers have turned out to be monumental catastrophes, so much that many wonders if they were really the right people for the jobs.
If they are not enmeshed in controversies, they are enacting anti-people policies or making statements that are out of place with the offices they occupy.
Pulse List take a look at 8 of the worst performing ministers in President Muhammadu's cabinet today.
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1. Solomon Dalung (Minister of Youth and Sports)
There is no debate about the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, making it into this list. The former prison warden from Plateau State has no business being a minister in Nigeria or anywhere else for that matter.
When Dalung was sworn in by the President, those who knew him pointed out the fact that he has no antecedents in sports and has such would be a monumental failure and he has proved everyone right.
From his dressing where he turns up with his Marxist-styled Khaki and a revolutionary red beret, Dalung has bumbled from one controversy to another and one wonders what the president still sees in him.
Nothing Dalung does or says are congruent with modern day management of sports anywhere in the world. He is largely incompetent, ineffective and his unguarded statements have become absurd and a source of embarrassment to Nigerians sporting fraternity.
Under Dalung whose biggest shot at politics before being made a minister was becoming the Chairman of Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State in 2007, Nigerian had one of its worst Olympic showings in its history at the 2016 Rio games.
There was no money for training and camping of athletes, kits arrived late, allowances were not paid, and training was canceled.
The D’Tigers had to pay their ways to their training camps while the wrestlers had to borrow mats for their training from the University of Port Harcourt.
The U-23 football team that won a bronze medal at the games were left stranded in the USA and when questioned, Dalung said no one sent them there.
Dalung stirred the hornet’s nest when he reported that he went into the creeks of the Niger Delta to negotiate with militants on behalf of the government without any authorization.
Just few days ago, he made the biggest blunders ever when he said that the Federal Government did not know that the Super Falcons would win the AWCON trophy for a record eighth time and that was why there was no money appropriated for the.
It is still a wonder that Dalung is still a minister in Nigeria today with all these controversies he has been engulfed in.
2. Lai Mohammed (Minister of Information and Culture)
Lai Mohammed rode into the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari on the back of being the attack dog of the then main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He was the brain behind all the attacks and insults on the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and then President Goodluck Jonathan and when he was made Minister of Information, he has continued to play the opposition spokesman instead of drawing a line between his new job and his frontal attacking hatchet job.
He has failed to transform himself into a Minister as he is still in the forefront of attacking the past government and blaming everything on the former regime, neglecting the shortcomings of the new regime.
Under Mohammed, most Nigerians have lost confidence in the government of the day as he has moved from one blunder to the other both in his statements and constant denials of the campaign promise the government made while campaigning, so much that Nigerians have changed his name to Liar Mohammed.
3. Adamu Adamu (Minister of Education)
Mallam Adamu Adamu is only the Minister of Education by name as he has been one of the notable failures of this present government.
He is only heard and not seen and his policies have taken the education sector several years back into the dark ages.
The Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi State born Adamu is a trained accountant and one wonders what made PMB think an accountant would perform wonders in the ministry of education when there are renowned educationists all over the country.
Adamu has not done anything worth mentioning in the educational sector and there is no notable achievement anyone can point to his credit.
4. Kemi Adeosun (Minister of Finance)
Kemi Adeosun came highly recommended and with her beautiful looks, eloquent speech and sound education, Nigerians accepted her with open hands but she has also turned out to be a disaster.
Born and brought up in London, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of East London and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Financial Management from the University of London and everyone thought that for once, a square peg has been chosen for a round hole.
But it seems clear that the role she was given is far bigger than what she expected as she has not covered herself in complete glory.
Under Adeosun’s watch, Nigeria has spiraled into the recession pit for the first time in decades going by the draconian economic policies pursued adamantly by the government.
Her statements too have not done much to inspire confidence in Nigerians and the way out of the hardship is not looking great in any form.
She does not instill in both Nigerians and foreign investors as many companies have closed shop and dumped the country. The Naira keeps depreciating against the Dollar and Pounds and other hard currencies under the watch of the present Finance Minister and many keep wondering why the president still has so much confidence in her.
5. Audu Ogbeh (Minister of Agriculture)
Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Otukpo, Benue State born Minister of Agriculture holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Language from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria obtained in 1972.
And that is the kind of man managing agriculture in the country. He may have been a successful farmer but managing one’s farm is far beyond managing a ministry and Ogbe has shown that he does not have what it takes to be the minister.
So far, he has been unable to bring his farming experience to bear in the ministry and inadequacies have been exposed if one is to compare him to his immediate predecessor, Akinwunmi Adesina who revolutionized the ministry in his time.
6. Rotimi Amaechi (Minister of Transportation)
Rotimi Amaechi was one of the wise men PMB chose to steer his government owing to his immense contribution to the victory of the party in the 2015 elections.
But like many of his colleagues, he has not done much to endear himself into the hearts of Nigerians as he seems not able to detach himself from the politics of his home state, Rivers, as he keeps engaging in one battle or the other with the state governor, Nyesom Wike.
No one seems to know the direction his ministry is going as the only thing of note he did was to commission the already completed Abuja-Kaduna rail project which can be credited to the regime of former president Goodluck Jonathan.
Amaechi has been mired in so many controversies, the latest being the accusation by some justice of the Supreme Court that he bribed them to influence the result of some elections.
Though the president still has so much confidence in Amaechi, one waits to see if he would have more impact in the coming year.
7. Aisha Alhassan (Minister of women Affairs)
When Aisha Alhassan was named Minister of Women Affairs, everyone knew she was just compensated after she failed to win the Taraba State governorship election. And instead of covering herself in glory, Mama Taraba has bumbled in mediocrity all along and in the past one and half years, nothing of note has come out of her.
She committed a big blunder when some parents of the kidnapped Chibok girls paid a visit to the Aso Rock Villa to compel the government to everything possible to rescue their daughters. Alhassan was reported to have told the parents that they were not invited to the villa and they should stop harassing the government of the day as their children were not kidnapped under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari.
She is reported to be dictatorial and does not carry her subordinates along whenever decisions are to be taken and has been accused of boasting that the president cannot remove her from her position.
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8. Adebayo Shittu (Minister of Communications)
Not many knew Adebayo Shittu but the Oyo State-born lawyer is another round peg in a square hole that was saddled with the task of running the Ministry of Communication by President Muhammadu Buhari.
His tenure has seen the ministry go from one controversy to the other with the money laundry scandal rocking MTN and the out-of-court fine settlement showing that he lacks clear-cut managerial capabilities.
Shittu had once opined that Nigerians would be taxed for making calls beyond a certain level and just, a statement was credited to him saying that top telecommunication companies in Nigeria would increase the tariff for their data, though he came out to deny the statement but a few days later, he insisted that Nigerians must be ready for data increment soon.
In all, Shittu does not repose a lot of confidence in Nigerians about his abilities to run the Ministry of Communications.
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