New Ministry: Tinubu Only Interested in Reelection, Says Kalu Aja

In a critical assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s recent actions, financial analyst and educator Kalu Aja has suggested that the President is more concerned with securing reelection than with enforcing budgetary discipline or implementing key policy recommendations.

Aja’s comments followed Tinubu’s announcement on Tuesday regarding the creation of a new Ministry for Livestock Development. This announcement was made during the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on Livestock Reforms at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Expressing his concerns on his X handle, Aja questioned the rationale behind establishing a new ministry focused on livestock, given the administration’s earlier commitments to budgetary reform and the implementation of the Oransanya report, which aims at restructuring and streamlining government agencies.

“If the North today asks for Federal land and federal funding for RUGA, they will get it,” Aja stated. “If they ask for all roads to have air conditioning, they will get it also. This President is not interested in budgetary discipline or implementing the Oransanya report; he is only interested in reelection.”

Aja further remarked on the administration’s apparent shift in priorities: “The administration that spoke eloquently about implementing the Oransanya report is creating a brand new ministry for cows.”

Addressing his remarks to different groups, Aja acknowledged the strategic fiscal moves by northern states while urging economists and budget watchers to temper their expectations for significant economic reforms. “To my Northern brothers and sisters, please, I am not attacking you; you know how to play this fiscal federalism game well. You have gotten Sokoto to Lagos ‘super highway’, kudos; push harder, and you will get an inland port in Kano with complete dredging of inland Rivers.”

In a concluding note to economic analysts and observers, Aja added, “To ‘Ndi economists’, budget watchers, and those expecting an economic miracle, I say ‘collect your L in peace.'”