The Federal Government has commenced ministerial press briefings as part of efforts to promote transparency and accountability in governance.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced this during a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

Idris stated that President Bola Tinubu had directed all ministers to appear periodically before the media to provide updates on their activities and policies.

According to Idris, the briefings will serve as a platform for ministers to directly engage with Nigerians, highlight key developments in their respective ministries, and address public concerns.

The minister noted that other ministers would also take turns weekly to address Nigerians as part of the ongoing ministerial press briefings.

The ministerial press briefings come ahead of the second anniversary of Tinubu’s administration, reinforcing the government’s commitment to keeping citizens informed about its programme and policies.

“This year 2025 is a year of consolidation, a year for building on the gains we have seen in the first 19 months of the administration,” he said.

The minister reminded Nigerians of the gains the administration has made as it proceeds into the mid-point of its tenure.

He mentioned some of the key areas to include fiscal, macroeconomic and legislative reforms, noting that fuel subsidy removal has helped plug leakages amounting to hundreds of billions of Naira annually.

The minister listed the targeted interventions to include the

Students Loan Fund, regional development, healthcare, passport reforms and Compressed Natural Gas.

On infrastructure development, the minister said that Nigeria is a vast construction site under Tinubu with over N2.5 trillion worth of road infrastructure projects approved by the Federal Executive Council.

On defence and security, the minister added, “In 2024, our security forces neutralized more than 8,000 terrorists and bandits, and arrested 11,600 others, with more than 10,000 weapons recovered.

“Additionally, about 8,000 kidnap victims were successfully rescued. We will continue to work to drive down the number of victims while scaling up our success stories in terms of deterrence, crime-solving, and prosecutions.”

He mentioned food security as another area the Tinubu administration has achieved a lot, adding, “Nigeria now has a Ministry of Livestock Development to harness what is potentially a multi-billion-dollar agricultural opportunity that can transform our rural communities and enrich and empower tens of millions of Nigerians, including women and youth. Indeed, the price of grains has dropped significantly across the country.”