ABUJA, Nigeria — Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, former Governor of Abia State and the current representative of Abia North Senatorial District, has called on President Bola Tinubu to overhaul parts of his cabinet and security leadership, citing underperformance and the worsening plight of ordinary Nigerians.
Kalu made the remarks during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired Monday, June 2, 2025.
“Some people working with President Tinubu should be relieved of their duties,” Kalu said.
“Some of them should go, both from the security sector and among the ministers.”
The outspoken senator stressed that President Tinubu must exhibit the political courage necessary to dismiss non-performing officials, both in ministerial and security portfolios.
“If he takes my advice, most of these ministers — I’ve appraised them and talked to him privately — most of them should go. And that is the truth,” he said.
President Tinubu, who assumed office in May 2023, formed Nigeria’s largest cabinet since 1999 with 45 ministers.
A partial reshuffle in October 2024 saw five ministers dismissed, seven new ones appointed, and ten others reassigned.
Despite those changes, Kalu suggested the adjustments have not gone far enough to address the country’s deepening socioeconomic problems.
Kalu did not spare the nation’s security chiefs either.
“If he takes my advice, some of the security chiefs will also go,” he said, pointing to Nigeria’s continuing insecurity, especially in rural regions where insurgency and banditry have prevented farmers from accessing their land.
“The insurgencies and the problems all over Nigeria are still making people not go to the farm,” Kalu added.
“That’s affecting food production and economic growth.”
While acknowledging Tinubu’s economic reforms and the macroeconomic adjustments underway, Kalu said the benefits have not yet reached ordinary Nigerians, particularly those hit hardest by the removal of fuel subsidies and rising inflation.
“The macro side is coming, but the other downsides are not coming very well,” he noted.
“Nigerians in the lower area are still suffering. They have not started having the benefit of the changes President Tinubu is making.”
Whether the President will heed this advice remains to be seen.
