Present and Past Minister of Information in Nigeria from 1957 Till Date

Last Updated on November 10, 2021 by Ope Quadri

The image-making of the ruling government of any country lies in the hands of the Minister of Information or whatever name it is called anywhere in the world.

From 1957 till January 15, 1966, there were three cabinets at the federal level by the government of Nigeria’s first (and last unless Nigeria goes back to the parliamentary system) Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

At the time, specifically on August 30, 1957, the last Governor-General in Nigeria, Sir James Wilson Robertson, announced that Balewa had been appointed Prime Minister, what followed was the announcement of the first cabinet by the Balewa’s government and Kola Balogun, the National Secretary of the NCNC party became the first federal minister of information in Nigeria.

Note:

NCNC is one of Nigeria’s political parties before independence which means the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons.

And after the general elections of 1959, another cabinet was announced by the government and Theophilus Owolabi Shobowale Benson was announced as head of Nigeria’s Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, and Culture.

The last information minister during the government of Balewa was Ayo Rosiji. At the time of publication, Layiwola aka “Lai” Mohammed is the incumbent minister of Information and culture, the position he has been occupying since November 2015 till date.

Other Ministers of Information from 1957 till date are:

Ministers	Years in Office	Remark
Kola Balogun	1957 to 1959	Pioneer minister of Information in Nigeria. He was also the First President of the Nigeria Arts Council from 1958 to 1970
Theophilus Owolabi Shobowale Benson popularly called T. O. S. Benson	1959 to December 8, 1964	He was appointed to head the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting, and Culture. He was the first to occupy the position on Nigeria’s independence in 1960
Ayo Rosiji	1964 to 1966	He was the last in the Balewa’s government as mutinous soldiers on January 15, 1966, overthrew the government.
Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi’s cabinet	Unknown
Yakubu Gowon	Unknown
Gen. Murtala Ramat Muhammed cabinet	Unknown
Olusegun Obasanjo cabinet	Unknown	The military regime of Obasanjo dissolved the cabinet of his boss on March 15, 1976. Murtala Muhammed was assassinated on February 3, 1976, in a failed coup.
Garba Wushishi	February 1982 to October 1983
Sam Omeruah	1984 to 1985	After the overthrow of Muhammadu Buhari on August 27, 1985 by Ibrahim Babangida, IBB announced his cabinet comprising military and civilians.
Anthony Ukpo	1985-1986	Stephen Anthony Ukpo was later announced as the military administrator of Rivers State
Tony Momoh	1986-1990	Prince Tony Momoh was a journalist
Alex Akinyele	1990-1991	He was a renowned Public Relations expert and a retired customs officer. He would later become the chairman of the Nigerian Sports Commission (NSC).
Walter Ofonagoro	March 20, 1995	The eloquent Ofonagoro was the most famous minister during the military junta of Sani Abacha. He would be remembered for opening up the broadcasting industry in Nigeria and the foundation that led to licencing of private broadcasting stations in Nigeria.
Abdulsalam Abubakar Cabinet	Unknown	Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar inaugurated new 31-member Cabinet on August 21, 1998.
Dapo Sarumi	1999 to 2001
Prof Jerry Gana	May 29, 2001 to July 2003
Chukwuemeka Chikelu	July 2003 to June 2005
Frank Nweke Jr.	June 2005 to May 2007
John Ogar Odey	July 2007 to Dec 2008
Dora Akunyili	December 2008 to March 2010
Labaran Maku	December 2010 to March 2015	He resigned to contest the 2015 governorship election in Nararawa under APGA. He lost to Umaru Tanko Al-Makura
Patricia Naomi Akwashiki	March 2015 to May 2015
Layiwola “Lai” Mohammed	November 11, 2015, till date	Lai Mohammed was a former Chief of Staff to former Lagos State governor Bola Tinubu. He was the National Publicity Secretary of All Progressive Congress (APC) before the coalition that produced Buhari as the winner of elections in 2015

Timeline of Obasanjo’s cabinet reshuffle:

• June 2000
• January 2001
• December 2004
• June 2005
• January 10, 2007

Since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo in the fourth republic had the most cabinet reshuffle to date.

He is also known for merging and splitting ministries for efficiency and management