Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu, Tunde Rahman, said there should be no grudges in politics.
A presidential aide said this while reacting to Tinubu’s meeting with 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Recall that Tinubu and Atiku met at the National Mosque along with the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje and PDP Governors Forum Chairman Mohammed Bala.
Borno South Senator Ali Ndume and former APC National Chairman, Sheriff Ali Modu were also present.
Commenting on the meeting, President Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said: “President Tinubu met with his old friend and political rival, Atiku Abubakar, at the National Mosque.
“It was the wedding of Jumato and the daughter of Senator Danjuma Goje.”
Reacting to the meeting through his X-page, Rahman said: “President Tinubu will meet with former Vice President Atiku, his main opponent in the last presidential election.There should be no grudges in politics. ”
Former minister criticizes Tinubu cabinet reshuffle as politically motivated
Meanwhile, former Communications Minister Adebayo Shittu has expressed dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu’s recent cabinet reshuffle, calling it uninspired and politically driven.
Shittu shared his views on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” program on Thursday, a day after the president’s major overhaul of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
President Tinubu’s recent government reshuffle has seen the dismissal of five ministers, the reassignment of 10, and the introduction of seven new ministerial nominations currently awaiting Senate confirmation.
But Shittu said the changes appear to prioritize political considerations over injecting expertise into the cabinet.
“If you look at the changes that took place yesterday (Wednesday), it is questionable whether they are necessarily bringing in better or even better brains in terms of governance, expectations and performance,” he said. ” he said.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just that some Nigerians are being transferred and others are being brought in, and those who have been pushed out are inferior to those who have been brought in. does not necessarily mean that “
The president on Wednesday bowed to calls for a cabinet shakeup, dismissing five ministers, reassigning 10 others and making seven new appointments.
But Shittu, who served as a minister in the government of former Tinubu President Muhammadu Buhari, said the cabinet reshuffle was just a political ritual to appease a disgruntled public.
The former minister said: “In most cases, not everyone who is appointed as a minister is suitable for me.
“You will agree that because of the Nigerian factor, many decisions have more political overtones than meritocracy when deciding who becomes a minister.”
Shittu said ministerial nominees needed to be thoroughly vetted by the Senate because Nigerians had no patience for trial-and-error ministers.
“I would rather people go through a screening process to know their suitability,” he said.
“For example, let me be bold to say that today we have an engineer as the Minister of Works. would agree that the fact that it is has a very positive impact on the mission.
“For example, if I were to be assigned to the Ministry of Works, with no training as a lawyer and no understanding of engineering, of course it would take me a lot of time to learn, and I, as a Nigerian, There certainly isn’t much time for such a learning process.
