President Tinubu Names Oyetola Minister of Transportation Following Removal of Vital Agencies

The former Governor of Osun State, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, was on Wednesday night named the Minister of Transportation by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in what appears to have dashed the hope of the self-acclaimed ‘financial guru’ emerging minister of a more ‘juicy’ ministry.

This is coming as the President restructured the Ministry that used to house vital government agencies like the Nigeria Port Authority, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, National Inland Waterways Authority, and Council for Regulation of Freight Forwarding of Nigeria. These agencies will now be supervised by the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, to be headed by Hon. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo from Ondo State.

Sources informed OSUN DEFENDER  that only the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology and Nigerian Railway Corporation will be left under the supervision of Mr. Oyetola who some have accused of being incompetent and lacking the requisite skills to manage a ministry as sensitive as the Ministry of Transportation that had before housed those vital agencies of government.

The former governor during his screening for the ministerial position at the Nigerian Senate claimed he possesses over 30 years of cognate experience in both the private and public sector, but the reason he has been saddled with a role below his ‘expertise’ and expectation cannot be ascertained as at press time.

A source who did not want his name in the press revealed that the choice of the Ministry of Transportation may not be unconnected with Mr. Oyetola’s less than stellar performance in the public sector and particularly because he could not win the state for himself nor President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or any of his party’s candidate during the last general elections.

Oyetola, 68, contested for the Osun State gubernatorial seat on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 2018 gubernatorial election and won with the support of his predecessor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who he served as Chief of Staff for eight years. He however lost his re-election bid in 2022 to the incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples’ Democratic Party.

His nomination as a Minister was also not devoid of drama as he failed to make the first batch of ministerial nominees sent for confirmation by President Tinubu.

The rumour mill was rife on social media amongst his supporters before yesterday who boasted he will be saddled with the responsibility of overseeing a sensitive Ministry, particularly the Ministry of Interior, just like his predecessor, with whom he had a running battle in the last four years. His supporters on social media, who consist of a motley crowd of praise singers have been noticeably silent since the announcement sources say took them by surprise.

In a press release signed by Willie Bassey, the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, obtained by OSUN DEFENDER, President Tinubu allocated portfolios to 45 of his ministerial nominees cleared by the Senate. They will be sworn-in on Monday at the State House Conference Centre.

According to the release, the President assigned Mr. Wale Edun as the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, while Barr. Festus Keyamo is the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy is Bosun Tijani while Ishak Salako was appointed as the Minister of State, Environment and Ecological Management. The immediate past governors of Rivers and Ebonyi states, Nyesom Wike and Dave Umahi were announced as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and Minister of Works, respectively.