Without the appointment of a substantive Minister of Petroleum, President Bola Tinubu has indirectly retained the position in his cabinet
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assigned portfolios to 45 ministers confirmed penultimate Monday by the Senate.
The list of portfolios announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, showed the split of some ministries and the creation of new ones.
Some ministries also get more tasks with added appellations.
For instance, the president split the Ministry of Petroleum Resources with the appointment of Ekperipe Ekpo as Minister of State, Gas Resources.
Heineken Lokpobiri is equally appointed Minister of State, Petroleum Resources.
Badaru (defence), Keyamo (Aviation), Wike (FCT),
It is not clear if President Tinubu will retain the position of senior Minister of Petroleum.
His predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, oversaw the affairs of the ministry during his eight-year tenure.
Also divided are the ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as Works and Housing with Wale Edun as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.
David Umahi and Ahmed M. Dangiwa are now substantive ministers in the ministries of Works as well as Housing & Urban Development respectively. Abdullahi T. Gwarzo is the Minister of State, Housing & Urban Development.
The erstwhile Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has also been split into two and placed under the supervision of John Enoh as Minister of Sports Development and Abubakar Momoh, Minister of Youth.
A former governor of Rivers State and leader of G5 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors, Nyesom Wike, who worked for the victory of Tinubu, was appointed Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Surprisingly, Dele Alake, a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State under the then Governor Tinubu, touted to man the Ministry of Information, was eventually assigned to supervise the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
The newly created ministries and their ministers included: Marine and Blue Economy, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo; and Tourism, Lola Ade-John.
Appointees whose ministries got more tasks with added appellations include: Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate; Minister of State, Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa; Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani; Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu; Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; Minister of State, Environment and Ecological Management, Ishak Salako; Minister of Water Resources & Sanitation, Joseph Utsev; Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello M. Goronyo; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari; and Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi.
The list of ministers with no changes in their appellations includes: Defence, Mohammed Badaru; State, Defence, Bello Matawalle; Education, Tahir Maman; State, Education, Yusuf T. Sununu; State, Federal Capital Territory, Mairiga Mahmud; Interior, Saídu A. Alkali; Foreign Affairs, Yusuf M. Tuggar; Police Affairs, Ibrahim Geidam; State, Police Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim; Steel Development, Shuaibu A. Audu; State, Steel Development, U. Maigari Ahmadu; Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; Labour and Employment, Simon B. Lalong; State, Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, as well as Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Zephaniah Jisalo.
Others are Power, Adebayo Adelabu; Transportation, Adegboyega Oyetola; Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Anite; Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji; and Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy.