Former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has criticized some of the female ministers in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet, alleging that they dress as if they are competing in beauty pageants. Shittu made these remarks during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.
President Tinubu recently issued a warning to ministers, stating that those who fail to deliver on their assignments and meet targets will be removed from the federal cabinet. When asked about his opinion on the president’s warning, Shittu expressed his happiness at the appointment of several female ministers but stated, “my impression whenever I see them on television is as if they are going to beauty competitions based on the type of dresses they wear.” He emphasized the need for all ministers to demonstrate their seriousness about governance.
Shittu, who served as the Minister of Communications under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2019, also compared the leadership styles of his former boss and Tinubu. He noted that Buhari did not issue threats of dismissal to his ministers and rarely supervised his appointees. Shittu believes that Tinubu’s warning to the ministers during the retreat will motivate them to improve their performance. He highlighted the differences between Buhari’s and Tinubu’s approaches to governance, with Buhari being described as more reserved and less involved in micromanagement.
Babatunde Fashola, former Minister of Works and Housing, had previously made a similar comparison in April, characterizing Buhari as a leader who delegates and moves on, while describing Tinubu as a more hands-on boss who closely manages his team.
