The Presidency has said the failure of some ministers to render accounts of their stewardship prompted President Bola Tinubu’s recent directive for periodic press briefings by cabinet members.
On Tuesday, the Federal Government announced that ministers would begin to hold regular press briefings next week to update Nigerians on government policies and activities.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this in Abuja, stating that President Tinubu had mandated all ministers to engage with the public regularly to promote transparency and accountability.
According to Idris, the briefings will provide a platform for ministers to highlight key developments in their respective ministries, address public concerns, and combat misinformation.
“In 2024, we hosted 25 ministers at these briefings and reached millions of people in Nigeria and abroad through traditional and digital media platforms,” Idris said.
He added, “This year, 2025, is a year of consolidation—a year for building on the gains we have seen in the first 19 months of the administration.”
The minister’s announcement has fuelled speculation that the directive may serve as a means to reassess the performance of ministers, potentially paving the way for a cabinet reshuffle ahead of Tinubu’s second anniversary in office.
In the build-up to his first anniversary in office, the President ordered all 47 ministers at the time to present their performance reports to Nigerians.
Idris, who announced this at a press briefing in Abuja in May, stated that the low-key first anniversary celebration would feature sectoral media briefings by the ministers.
However, in October, when President Tinubu reshuffled his cabinet, some allegedly underperforming ministers retained their positions, while only five were sacked and 10 others were reassigned to new portfolios.
As Tinubu’s second anniversary approaches, some analysts have interpreted the fresh directive as a strong indication of an impending reassessment, potentially setting the stage for another cabinet reshuffle this year.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the president, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed such speculations, stating that the directive simply reinforced the President’s long-standing demand for accountability.
“The President has always insisted that ministers should render accounts. People want to know what they have been doing, but not all of them have been doing so.
“By asking them now to come forward and speak, the Information minister is merely implementing what the President has consistently emphasised—that the public deserves to know what each minister is doing. This has nothing to do with a reassessment or a cabinet reshuffle.
“It is simply about ensuring that all ministers provide periodic updates on their activities,” Onanuga said.
A source close to the President, who requested anonymity, also corroborated Onanuga’s stance, stressing that the periodic briefing had no connection to any performance reassessment or potential cabinet changes.
“I don’t believe it’s about assessment. This is nothing new. They have been doing it before, and this is just a reiteration. What I can tell you is that it cannot serve as a basis for assessment because the evaluation parameters are entirely different,” the source stated.
