Cabinet Shakeup Looms in Lagos State

By Olawale Olaleye

Barring any last minute changes, there is an imminent cabinet shakeup in the Lagos State cabinet as Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is said to be set to weed out persons, believed to have failed to align with his change agenda and attitude to work.

THISDAY sources hinted yesterday that the governor, who had resolved not to entertain any form of indiscipline especially as it relates to delivering on electoral promises had begun to list names of persons who would be axed.

Although the source failed to give an idea of when the reshuffling might take place, he said there was no doubting the fact that the governor was unhappy with some of the commissioners, who had failed to live up to expectations and had decided to let them off as soon as possible.

“There is imminent cabinet shakeup in Lagos and the governor is not joking about it. There is a lot of indiscipline amongst some cabinet members and the governor had tolerated even some of the insubordination to the extent many others were wondering what the problem was.

“But enough of this madness, the governor has confided in some of his close allies. He has warned everyone to sit and buckle up. He told them he would not take any more lethargy exhibited by anyone and for those who may think they are too big for their offices or are covered by some unrealistic political immunity, their days are numbered,” the source said.

Explaining the degree of insolence by some of the cabinet members, the source said some of the commissioners were fond of dropping names of some of the party leaders as if to intimidate the governor or make him look away from some of their excesses that were hurting the collective agenda of a progressing Lagos.

“It is worrisome that some will park their vehicles, where the governor gives a clear order that no one should park. Some have even said to the governor to his face that they were nominees of the party’s national leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, and as such should be treated differently or respected because they are stakeholders in Tinubu’s dynasty.

“In fact, the governor once told one of the very rude commissioners that if you were actually a favourite of the leader, how come you were not his choice for governor?  And he told him off immediately. Disposition such as this naturally affects their attitude to work and by extension, their productive output. The governor has resolved to put a stop to this as well as send very strong signal to others with the imminent cabinet reshuffle,” he said.

While throwing more light on how the governor has had to manage the various tendencies in the cabinet, the source noted that the governor has had to even subtly delegate some of the responsibilities of some ministries to commissioners from other ministries by way of sending subliminal messages to the entire cabinet members.

“Unfortunately, some of these guys could not even read the handwriting. You should know that if your principal starts to give the work of your ministry to a commissioner from another ministry, something is utterly wrong with your attitude to work, especially your capacity to deliver.

“But that is what is happening today and the affected guys have not been able to discover that problem is lurking in the corner for them. For those who know the Lagos governor, he is not a joker. He means business at all times and does not tolerate insubordination or lack of diligence to work. He has promised to teach some hard lessons with the cabinet shakeup and that is happening soon,” the source volunteered.