Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to reshuffle his cabinet where he is expected to do away with some “dead-wood” ministers who have performed below expectation.

The Presidency, which confirmed this on Wednesday, said a cabinet reshuffle to be undertaken by President Tinubu was imminent and could happen before October 1, which is Nigeria’s independence day.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who broke the news while addressing a press conference at the State House in Abuja, explained that the cabinet reshuffling exercise would be evidence-based as President Tinubu would be aided in his decision by public opinions that had been empirically extracted.

“The President has expressed his desire to reshuffle his cabinet and he will do it. I don’t know whether he wants to do it before October 1 and he will surely do it. That is what I will say, but he has not given us any timeline,” Onanuga told journalists.

He added that some ministers are expected to be dropped while some may be moved to other ministries.

“The President has given an order to all his ministers at the last Federal Executive Council meeting to go out there and speak about the activities of his administration,” Onanuga continued.

“Some of them have been media shy, television shy, radio shy, and he wants them to overcome all that and go out there and speak about what they have been doing.

“Because the feeling out there is that the government is not doing enough and the government has been doing a lot.

“And it is up to them to go out there and blow their own trumpet. They should go out there and talk about what their ministries have been doing.”

Former Zambian President, Edgar Lungu, has vowed to continue to fight his successor, Hakainde Hichilema, whom he described as a “dictator” following a series of police harassment since he declared his intention to contest for the presidency in the 2026 elections.

Lungu’s comments came after the police barricaded the Patriotic Front (PF) Secretariat on Panganani Road in Lusaka on Tuesday in anticipation of clashes between party factions and possible attacks from political opponents.

Lungu who addressed journalists at the PF Secretariat following the invasion by the police, vowed that the recent suspension of three Constitutional Court judges would not stop him from running for the presidency, describing the situation in the judiciary as saddening.

Lungu said despite plans by the Hichilema administration to intimidate him and his supporters, he was determined to contest in 2026, promising to fight his way back to State House through legal means.

“We are going to fight the dictator in State House and save Zambia’s democracy,” Lungu declared, referring to the current president, whom he accused of using police to instill fear among the opposition and ordinary Zambians.

“We shall do it legally and win with the support of the Zambian people in 2026 to restore our country.”

Lungu insisted that the Head of State is a “dictator,” criticizing what he saw as an abuse of police power to suppress political dissent.

He reassured civil servants still working within the government not to fear for their jobs, urging them to continue their duties with dedication as “time for change is near.”

The former president who also condemned the actions of police officers at his rallies, recalled an incident in Lundazi District, Eastern Province, where his meeting was disrupted.

“Late President Michael Sata taught us not to fear anyone. Those who try to instill fear in others are cowards and will not defeat me in 2026. The power is in the hands of the Zambians, not those in State House,” Lungu asserted.