Mary Akanbi
2nd November, 2024
The appointment of Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs by Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, sparked a fresh wave of controversy on social media.
As many Nigerians rushed to air their views, one could easily feel the pain and disapproval of the appointment.
However, to others, their joy knew no bonds.
To these people, the president has made a good move.
Notably, others pointed this move as one with political interest.
“Tinubu is the master of politics”, many reacted.
In the midst of this drama, the presidency has taken out time to defended President Bola Tinubu‘s appointment of Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Make no mistake, Bianca was among the new ministers Tinubu appointed on Wednesday to help tackle the problem that the country is facing.
Speaking in an interview, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Bianca has some diplomatic experience, stressing that she has been an ambassador to Spain.
He said: “Some people will say Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is widow of Ojukwu and so on, but Bianca has some diplomatic experience. She’s been an ambassador in Spain, and so, asking her to be Minister of State for Foreign Affairs shows you the President’s intention. Even if some people may say it’s political, you can see that the lady has some experience. So, she will add some value in that Ministry of foreign Affairs.”
He also spoke on the rationale behind retaining the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Onanuga added: “By the vision of the President, he’s even trying to expand the scope of that ministry… We live in a country where most of our people are poor, and government feels the need to make sure that at least it tries to offer them some palliatives to support them.
“What we’re doing, yes, corruption has affected that ministry in the past, even under the former President and so on. The government is now trying to put some technology to use, by making sure that people that they send money to, they have NIN, this National ID Number, so that they can really track those who are receiving money,”