Nigerian President Reshuffles Cabinet

Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia and Finance Minister Shamsuddeen Usman remained in their jobs.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua removed nearly half his cabinet on Wednesday in a long-awaited reshuffle, but key figures including the oil and finance ministers kept their jobs.

Yar'Adua removed 20 ministers including those responsible for power, gas, aviation and national planning and is now expected to send a list of new ministerial nominees for approval by the Senate in the coming days.

"President Yar'Adua thanked the outgoing ministers for their services to the nation since the inception of the present administration and wished them well in their future endeavours," presidency spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi said.

Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia and Finance Minister Shamsuddeen Usman remained in their jobs.

The reshuffle will remove a layer of political uncertainty in the world's eighth biggest oil exporter, where critics say economic reforms have largely ground to a halt during Yar'Adua's first 17 months in power.

Many Nigerians hope Yar'Adua -- whose lethargic governance has earned him the nickname "Baba Go-Slow," or even "Baba Full-Stop" -- will show more dynamism with a new administration in place.

A presidency official told reporters earlier this month that Yar'Adua wanted to ensure that "technocrats and professionals" were in charge of key ministries, although analysts have said they will reserve judgement until the new cabinet is named.

The 57-year-old leader of Africa's most populous nation and its biggest oil producer made sweeping changes to the structure of his ministries last month in a prelude to the reshuffle.

Yar'Adua created a new ministry for the Niger Delta, a region where militants are waging a campaign of violence against the oil industry, and separated the Energy Ministry into separate petroleum and power portfolios.

Shambolic power infrastructure, which can leave much of Nigeria without mains electricity for weeks, is seen as the main hindrance to economic development while insecurity in the Niger Delta has prevented the country from pumping as much crude oil as it could.