THISDAY Awards: Nominees For Minister of the Year

Nominees

Mr. Wale Edun

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, 

As  minister saddled with overseeing/managing the nation’s finances and the economy at a time of serious economic downturn, not many would envy his job.

While the current reforms initiated by the Tinubu administration has had a biting effect on the populace, the minister has remained focused on building an economy that is anchored on a robust economic growth trajectory.

He has repeatedly remarked that under the Tinubu administration, the nation’s revenue has been revamped.

This is given practical expression by the stellar performance of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which significantly overshot their revenue targets ajout by September last year.

Despite a crushing inflation following bold reforms, the economy still posted a modest growth in the last quarter under his watch.

The current tax reforms and aggressive revenue drive are some of the major focus areas of the minister.

Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate,

Minister of Health and Social Welfare

A globally recognised physician, Mohammed Ali Pate has been working assiduously to  turn around the malaise in the health system. He has made unrelenting in reforming the primary healthcare.

Pate and his lieutenants handled some health emergencies successfully, including averting the spread of monkey pox in the country.

Festus Keyamo

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development

Since his assumption of office as the Minister of Aviation and Aerospce Development, Festus Keyamo is largely perceived by keen watchers of the aviation sector as having struck the right chords in several respects, ranging from his uncompromising stance on ensuring that Nigerian carriers on the international routes enjoy due reciprocity from countries that share Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with Nigeria and according Nigerian Air travellers their deserved rights.

He has also been reasonably supportive of domestic airlines.

Keyamo also scores high in the area of ensuring safety standards by regulatory agencies.

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike

Minister of FCT

Arguably, Wike is one of the most visible and active ministers of the Tinubu administration. In about 18 months, the minister has given the Federal Capital Territory a major face-lift.

Although the satellite towns have not benefited much from his massive infrastructural revolution, the minister has transformed a major part of the city into huge construction site.

One of his achievements was the ability to convince the president to remove the FCT from the Treasury Single Account (TSA), a move considered pivotal to the successes he has made in delivering on infrastructure.

He was also instrumental to the recent huge revenue generation profile of the FCT through encouraging the FCT Intern Revenue Service (FCT-IRS).

Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo,

Minister of Interior

In his early days,the minister attracted plaudits from many Nigerians with the way he ordered the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to ease the misery of many citizens seeking to procure the Nigerian passport.

Since becoming the Minister of Interior,  he has initiated unprecedented reforms, clearly propelling many agencies under his watch to reforms.

A consummate businessman and consultant with a robust background in ICT, he has been in the forefront of driving technology to transform agencies under his ministry.Tunji-Ojo’s resolve to decongest correctional facilities through the clearance of fines and compensations worth N585 million for 4,068 inmates showcased his compassionate approach to criminal justice reform.