Against the backdrop of speculations that the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke has been penciled down for removal, the Presidency denied that there was ever such plan.

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday inaugurated three new ministers, a special adviser and two commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The new ministers, who were cleared by the Senate on Tuesday were Chief Kenneth Gbagi, Minister of State for Education; Mrs. Yabawa Wabi, Minister of State for Finance; and Hajiya Salamatu Suleman, Minister of State 11 for Foreign Affairs.

The new Special Adviser is Prof. Dan Adebiyi, who will serve as Special Adviser to the President on Policy. Ambassador . Mohammed Wali and Dr. Chris Iyimoga are the new INEC commissioners.

Mr. Remi Babalola, who until Wednesday morning was the Minister of State for Finance was elevated to a full minister. He is now in charge of the Special Duties ministry.

Babalola served twice as a Minister of State for Finance under the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and Jonathan.He replaces Captain Caleb Olubolade (retd.), who was moved to the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory Administration as the Minister of State.

However, after announcing the new cabinet portfolios, Jonathan refuted media speculations that he was planning a major cabinet reshuffle.He attributed the reports to what he described as a “sponsored press war” against his administration by interest groups which he did not name.

The President also noted that the speculations had had a negative impact on government business, as individuals and organisations that had business engagements with ministries opted to stay away until the situation became clear.

Jonathan also explained that the redeployment of Babalola and Olubolade, was a fundamental aspect of service.He, however, said that nobody would have an inkling of a cabinet reshuffle whenever he decided to do so.

Turning to journalists at the Council Chambers of the State House, where the inauguration took place, Jonathan said, “There are sometimes sponsored stories about senior staff of government to be removed or redeployed. Yes, we serve government and redeployment is a part of our service.

“A minister that is to be redeployed or is being redeployed is not an indictment, but for one reason or the other, in some cases to strengthen some other departments of government.

“But what we read in the media conveys a kind of sponsored press war; this is not helpful to the nation. If a minister is not to be removed and you continue to tell the world that the minister is to be removed, what you publish affects the ministry drastically.

“People who have one thing or the other to do with that ministry will become careful, they want to wait for the day the minister is to be removed which will not come.

“I assure you that if I am to redeploy a minister you will not know until the announcement is made. So, all these speculations about redeployment or removal, I plead with the media, please help Nigeria, because you are not serving us if you publish spurious stories sponsored by some interests groups.”

The President informed all the newly inaugurated government officials that they had taken an oath to serve the country.He, therefore, challenged them to do their best for the country.

The President said, “Today (Wednesday), we have sworn in three ministers, two INEC chairmen and one special adviser to serve. You have taken your oath of office, not to serve Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, but to serve Nigeria and Nigerians.

“I charge you to go and do your best to serve our dear country and motherland to make sure that we improve on any situation that we meet as we go to the office.”

Meanwhile, a source in the Presidency has denied reports that the President intended to sack the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Dieziani Alison-Madueke.

Alison-Madueke’s name was prominent among those mentioned in the reports as having been pencilled in for sack. The source, who asked not be named, described the listing of the minister as the handiwork of her “political opponents.”

The rebuttal of plan to sack the Petroleum Minister, according to a Presidency source, is to reassure the members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), especially theinternational business community to continue to carry out their lawful business pursuit with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its parastatals, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), at all times, as there is no plan to effect changes in the leadership of the ministry.

While swearing in new ministers yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan condemned what he called the use of media speculation as political weapons and advised the mass media to remain agents of development rather than being used to destabilise the polity.
The president, who was apparently reacting to media reports that he was considering reshuffling his cabinet months ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections, said “nobody will know if I want to remove any minister”.
Jonathan, who was visibly angry over the report said the said report was not good for the image of the country as it is capable of deterring prospective or potential investors from investing in the nation’s oil and gas sector.

He, therefore pleaded with the Nigerian mass media to always be guided by professionalism rather than being used to fight press war. He also added that redeployment of a minister is not a sign of indictment.
He said, “What we read in the media convey a kind of sponsored press war; this is not helpful to the nation. If a minister is not to be removed and you continue to tell the world that the minister is to be removed, what you publish affects the ministry drastically as people who have one thing or the other to do with that ministry will become careful, they would want to wait for the day the minister will be removed which will not come. “I assure you that if I am to redeploy a minister you will not know until the announcement will be made.

So all these speculations about redeployment or removal, I plead with the media, please help Nigeria because you are not serving us if you publish spurious stories, because they are being sponsored by some interests group”. He lamented that there are sometimes sponsored stories about senior staff of government to be removed or redeployed, saying “yes we serve government and redeployment is a part of our service. A minister that is to be redeployed or is being redeployed is not an indictment, but for one reason or the other, in some cases to strengthen some other departments of government”.