Presidency sources told The Nation yesterday that President Goodluck Jonathan was still evaluating the performance of ministers and would certainly ask those who are deemed to be performing below standard to go.
The highly placed source said contrary to the popular belief that Wednesday's shake-up was informed by the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), the mid-term report on the performance of ministers accounted for the reshuffling.
He said a few more ministers might be asked to go as "part of moves to retool the cabinet."
The source, who gave a rare insights into the cabinet shake-up, said: "Performance played a key role in the dropping of most of the nine ministers on Wednesday. The President did not lay much emphasis on partisan consideration.
"Yes, there might be one or two whose loyalty is politically doubtful but Nigerians should appreciate that these ministers entered into a performance bond and the President decided to judge them by their targets. Do not forget, targets are measurable.
"For instance, the former Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Ewa Hensaw, is a personal or close friend of the President. But he went ahead to drop him. He did not allow their relationship to override his aim of injecting new blood into the cabinet."
The source also added that some of the sacked ministers were aware that they had issues with their targets.
He said some also saw it coming because they have had time to raise the alarm to the President that their lines were being bugged by one of the security agencies.
The source said: "At a point, some ministers complained to the President on why their lines were being bugged by one of the security agencies.
"The President, who was transparent in handling the matter, asked a security chief if it was true that ministers were being monitored. The chief was quoted to have said: 'Any minister who has nothing to hide should not fear.'
Responding to a question, the source said the performance appraisal "is ongoing, I am aware of this. More ministers, especially those perceived to be corrupt may go.
"None of the nine sacked ministers is ranked among cabinet members perceived to be highly corrupt who are still in office. We have some ministers living in houses worth more than N1.5 billion or engaging in ostentatious lifestyle. Do you think the President will turn a blind eye to reports on such ministers?
"Based on security reports, some ministers might still go."
It was also learnt that the fate of some key personal aides of the President, including the Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadhome, was shaky last night.
Some forces are said to be mounting pressure on the President to appoint a Chief of Staff with political mileage in view of the opposition against his re-election bid.
The forces are pushing for the appointment of the Chairman of AIT/ Raypower, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, as the new Chief of Staff.
In the last one month, Dokpesi has been shuttling from one Northern leader to another to reconcile Jonathan with the North. The AIT boss is said to have succeeded to the extent that sworn political 'enemies' of Jonathan in the North have started to give the President's rapprochement a thought.
This is why the forces believe that it is politically strategic to drag Dokpesi to the presidency as Chief of Staff, even if it is against the wish of the business mogul, The Nation learnt yesterday.
They are proposing that Oghiadhome be made a minister. But some are opposed to ministerial appointment for him because of the cold war between him and his political 'godfather', Chief Tony Anenih.
The cold war, it was further learnt, led to the exclusion of Oghiadhome's name from the list of Edo delegates to the recently concluded PDP National Convention. Even at that, it was alleged that Oghiadhome allegedly found his way to the convention and voted.
His alleged voting could invalidate the outcome of the convention if pursued by the aggrieved PDP members in court, a source said.
He was emphatic that some aides who are not adding value to the President's second term bid in 2015 might also be dropped.
Oghiadhome is however not taking things for granted. He is reaching out to those perceived to have the President's ears.
Source: The Nation
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