A statement by the Special Assistant (Media), Sam Nwaobasi, on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, that announced the termination of the minister’s appointment, titled: “Termination of the Appointment of the Honourable Minister of Youth Development”, reads: “His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, President and Commander –in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, has relieved Inuwa Abdul-kadir Esq of his appointment as Honourable Minister of Youth Development with effect from the 26th of August, 2013.
“The former Minister is to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
“Mr. President expresses appreciation to the former minister for the time he put in the services of the nation and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
There were indications that the minister was booted out of the cabinet for four reasons, including his “deep-rooted” loyalty to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Governor Aliyu Wammako, who is seen as anti-Presidency.
It was, however, learnt that the minister had told some forces in the Presidency that he could not abandon Tambuwal, his childhood friend.
He was quoted as saying: “I can’t abandon Tambuwal because we have come a long way.”
Other factors advanced for the sack of the minister were alleged lack of depth of the portfolio; the crisis in the National Youth Council of Nigeria(NYCN); and the slow pace of reforming the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The ex-minister was caught unawares by his sack. He was away in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
Following the news of his sack, Abdulkadir asked his aides to clear his desk.
As at 7pm, the aides were still at the ministry, trying to pack his personal effects.
A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Although no explanation was given for AbdulKadir’s sack by the President, we suspected that it was borne out of politics.
“For some time, the ex-minister had been warned about his closeness to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, but he said if he is going to be the last man standing with the Speaker, he would do so.
“He said he had been Tambuwal’s friend from childhood and he could not abandon him now.
“Also, we are all aware of the strain in the relationship between Governor Aliyu Wammako and President Goodluck Jonathan, with the G-5 mission to salvage the nation’s democracy. The ex-minister is a product of Tambuwal-Wammako political alliance.
“The removal of AbdulKadir might pave the way for the emergence of a pro-Jonathan minister from Sokoto State.
Another source attributed the ex-minister’s sack to alleged “lack of depth of his mandate”.
“The recent evaluation of ministers showed that he has not come to terms with the demand of Youth Development.
“As a matter of fact, his fellow ministers used to joke with AbdulKadir that he is a minister of youth who is not a youth. He has not initiated any landmark policy to assist the youth.”
A third source attributed the sack to the recent dissolution of the Executive Council of the National Youth Council of Nigeria(NYCN) without consultations with the President.
“The NYCN President, Mr. Yakubu Shendam, was alleged to be a former Personal Assistant to the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and a card-carrying member of the party.
“Worried by the crisis trailing NYCN elections in May in Makurdi, the Minister dissolved the council. There were fears that the ex-Minister acted contrary to the plan of the Federal Government to use NYCN to seek the support of youths in 2015.
“A former President of NYCN, Mr. Olawale Ajani, who contested with Shendam, had claimed that there was no election at the Benue congress, and that it was a charade superintended by the ex-minister.
Olawale said: “The honourable minister continued to persuade me to jettison the election for his candidate claimed to have come from the Presidency. He said that he had been mandated by the Presidency to deliver Yakubu Shemdan, a personal assistant to the PDP chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.”
Very soon PDP will sack everybody sake of 2015 unrealistic presidential ambition.
ReplyDeleteEverything in his damned country is politics. A Minister being sacked, not for non-performance but because of his political alliance. It i really unfortunate that we don't have rulers and leaders that are sensitive. The implication of this sack is that, if the Minister had been wasteful and incompetent, he would have been retained provided he is loyal to the Presidency.
ReplyDeleteMINISTER OF OR MINISTER FOR? any which one, what has been his contribution to the society in term of youth development, we only see things happening in Nigeria on papers not in reality, no single youth development program in my area. GOD is watching Nigeria
ReplyDelete