Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago has dissolved his cabinet, directing permanent secretaries to take charge of ministries pending the appointment of new commissioners.
The announcement was made during Monday’s State Executive Council meeting at the Council Chamber in Minna and later confirmed in a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim.
While thanking the outgoing commissioners for their service, Bago emphasized that the restructuring was part of ongoing efforts to reposition his administration for greater efficiency.
He noted that the Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and other principal aides within his office would remain in their positions to ensure continuity.
“He appreciated them for the services they had so far rendered towards the development of the state and wished them the best in their future endeavours,” Ibrahim stated.
The dissolved cabinet was the first appointed by Governor Bago at the inception of his administration in 2023.
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Cabinet dissolutions are not new in Nigeria’s political landscape. In June 2021, for instance, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State dissolved his cabinet two years into his first term.
At the time, Sule cited the need to inject new ideas into governance as the reason for his decision. Like Bago, Sule also directed permanent secretaries to oversee ministries until a new team was unveiled.
Similarly, in 2019, then-Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State dissolved his first-term cabinet, retaining only a few trusted aides, before reconstituting a fresh team that would drive his second-term agenda.
Such shake-ups often serve as opportunities for governors to reward political loyalty, bring in technocrats, or correct perceived lapses in performance.
By following this political tradition, Governor Bago joins the long list of state leaders who have used cabinet dissolution as a tool to reset their administrations midway, balancing governance efficiency with political strategy.
Punch Newspaper
