By Felix Khanoba
The move by President Bola Tinubu to reshuffle his cabinet may likely affect one of the two ministers in the Federal Ministry of Education.
On September 25, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, announced that Tinubu intends to make changes to his cabinet, although no specific timeline was provided.
While Onanuga said the move is to enhance performance across several sectors of the economy, some individuals have however pointed fingers to the Federal Ministry of Education, which apart from not recording any major achievement in the past one year, has also generated concerns over its leadership.
This unease follows the appointment of Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo as the new Permanent Secretary, succeeding Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack from Bayelsa State, who was recently promoted to the position of Head of Service of the Federation.
Dr. Gwarzo, who hails from Kano State, joins a leadership team already comprising two northern ministers: Professor Tahir Mamman from Adamawa State as the Minister of Education, and Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu from Kebbi State as the Minister of State for Education.
This concentration of top officials from the northern region has sparked debate about regional balance and representation within the ministry.
A source, who preferred to remain anonymous, voiced the growing concerns: “These appointments are not balanced. I don’t think it is ideal to have two ministers and a Permanent Secretary all coming from the same region, whether North or South.
“What we have here in education is that the three are now from the North. How are we sure that the interests of other regions will be protected in policy-making and even in the allocation of resources?”
The AUTHORITY reports that historically, the Federal Ministry of Education had before now seen a more diverse regional representation in its leadership.
During former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Professor Ruqqayattu Rufai from Jigawa State served as the Education Minister, Nyesom Wike from Rivers State was the Minister of State, and MacJohn Nwaobialla from Abia State was the Permanent Secretary. Later, Rufai was succeeded by Ibrahim Shekarau from Kano State.
From 2015 to 2023, under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Adamu Adamu from Bauchi State served as the Minister of Education. During his tenure, the position of Minister of State saw transitions from Professor Anthony Anwukah from Imo State (2015-2019) to Emeka Nwajiuba, also from Imo. Meanwhile, Sunny Echono from Benue State was the Permanent Secretary, later succeeded by David Adejo from Kogi State.
