Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari, has given reasons why new ministries were created, others merged and some were split.
The president also reiterated his commitment to the safety and security of Nigerians.
Buhari stated this at the opening of the inaugural meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“Safety, security and prosperity of Nigeria’s 200 million people are our responsibility; we must not fail them,” said Buhari while tasking the ministers to redouble their effort and work for the overall good of the Nigerian people.
The president said he had to create, merge and split some ministries for efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.
Said Buhari: “In the recently concluded elections, the majority of Nigerians who voted for us gave us a clear mandate to enhance the security of lives and property across the entire country, create a diversified and inclusive economy that will bring prosperity to all, and to install governance and accountability in our systems and processes, thereby eliminating corruption. Therefore, all ideas and projects that will contribute to achieving these goals shall be foremost in our deliberations.”
“To enhance service delivery, we decided to restructure some functions which led to the creation of new ministries to achieve our goal of economic diversification and inclusive growth.
“We merged the Ministry of Finance with that of Budget and National Planning, we also created a ministry for humanitarian affairs and disaster management and social development to fully institutionalise our interventions that support some of the poorest and most distressed citizens of our country We split the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and Ministry of Transportation and Aviation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our infrastructure delivery programmes and projects,” said Buhari.
The president said Ministry of Police Affairs was created with the purpose to oversee the development and implementation of strategies that will enhanced Nigeria’s internal security in synergy with other security and intelligence agencies.
He said the new ministry will assist in supporting the re-establishment of civil authority in the liberated areas of the north east.
The president also said he returned some of the ministers to their post based on their performance in the first term.
“During our first term, you executed your mandate diligently in a patriotic manner. I expect you all to double your efforts in this second term,” he said.