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By Olubiyi Sosanya
After months of waiting, the Bola Tinubu administration, takes off formally, with Monday’s inauguration of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The event is billed to hold at the State House Conference, Aso villa in Abuja by 10 am. Forty-five minister-designates out of the 48 nominees screened by the Senate were inaugurated as three are yet to be confirmed.
Tinubu, who was inaugurated as president had on July 27 forwarded the first batch of his ministerial nominees to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
The first 28-man list unveiled by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, had immediate past Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) and Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa).
Others are Mr. Abubakar Momoh, Amb. Yusuf Tugar, Mr. Ahmed Dangiwa, Miss Hannatu Musawa, Chief Uche Nnaji, Dr. Betta Edu, Dr. Dorris Uzoka, Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Hon. Nkeiru Onyejeocha, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Mrs. Stella Okotete and Mrs. Uju Ohanenye. The list also had Mr. Bello Muhammad, Mr. Dele Alake, Barr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Mr. Muhammad Idris, Mr. Olawale Edun, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, Mrs. Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim, Prof. Ali Pate, Prof. Joseph Utsev, Senator Abubakar Kyari, Senator John Eno and Senator Abubakar Danladi.
The second batch of the ministerial list was forwarded to the Senate on August 2 and it had 19 nominees. They are former Governors Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe) and Simon Lalong (Plateau). Others are Senator Sabi Abdullahi, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, Ahmed Gwarzo, Bosun Tijani, Maryam Shetty, Isiak Salako, Tunji Alausa, Yusuf Sununu, Lola Ade-John, Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, Prof Tahir Mamman, Alkali Ahmed Said, Maigari Ahmadu and Zephaniah Jizallo.
The President later withdrew the nomination of Maryam Shetty and replaced her with Mariya Mahmud. He also added the immediate Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo.
All the 48 nominees were screened by the Senate but 45 were confirmed. Interestingly, former Governor elRufai, who played a key role in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Okotete (Executive Director, Business Development of the Nigerian ExportImport Bank) were not confirmed over what the Senate president described as their inability to scale “security checks.”
Section 147(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides that the president shall appoint at least a minister from each of the 36 states of the federation but Tinubu opted for a 48-man cabinet, which has been described as bloated given that it is the largest the nation has ever had.
Besides criticisms over the cabinet’s size, there are disapprovals in some quarters over its composition and alleged marginalization of some geopolitical zones, particularly the South-East. A breakdown of allocation of the ministerial slots according to the geopolitical zones shows that the SouthEast with five states got five, NorthWest with seven states (10), South-West with six states (nine), North-East with six states (eight), South-South with six states (seven) and North Central with six states (eight). The Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), for the first time, had a slot.
On the cabinet’s composition, the belief is that it has more of politicians than technocrats given the number of former governors, ex-deputy governors as well as serving and former members of the National Assembly that made the list.
Roles as defined by President Tinubu
There is no doubt that the ministers are coming on board at a time Nigeria is facing economic and security challenges but they already have their responsibilities clearly defined as Tinubu’s campaign promises as contained in his policy document, tagged: “Renewed hope: Action Plan for a Better Nigeria,” revolve around economic reforms. The President told Nigerians during the campaigns that he will engage the private sector to drive economic development across the country. His words: “My belief that the private sector is the fulcrum of economic progress is evident and documented. However, fundamental flaws with the basic design of our national economy imperil the private sector from playing the role it ought to and adding the value it is capable of. In this instance, the government must act as a catalyst.
“We shall do this on all fronts. We will address the conflict between monetary and fiscal policies. Budgeting will be based on the projected spending levels needed to push real annual growth rate above seven per cent, while reducing the unemployment rate, so that we can double the economy in 10 years.” On agriculture, he said his administration will place emphasis on the use of technology to improve the agricultural sector for better production and contribution to the nation’s economy. According to him, “the Buhari administration invested heavily in agriculture, providing loans and expanding the country’s total acreage of cultivated land. We will build on this, but our focus will be on using technology and expertise to accelerate growth and development by providing the critical infrastructure necessary to achieve the commodity transformations in the agriculture value chain.” He added that “roads, rail, access to ports, and storage infrastructure are what we require to radically transform the agriculture sector and increase its value to the nation. Providing these will be the areas of our focus, so that the full potential of our agro-economy can be achieved, and we can reap the benefits in jobs, improved economic opportunities and increased prosperity.” On power, he said his administration will be committed to energy sufficiency through the reform of the sector.
“Energy supply is another priority. There is no version of the world where Nigeria’s ambition for self can be achieved without solving the problem of how to provide energy to homes and businesses across the country,” he said. On education, he pledged that his administration will provide student loans (already in place) and reform the Almajiri system in the northern part of the country.
He added that he will recruit and train more teachers as a way of boosting education as well as promised to establish technology hubs, where youths can even develop technological languages on their own and make a better 21st-century approach to governance in Nigeria. He also gave a clue on how he intends to tackle insecurity that is ravaging almost every part of the country, saying: “I am convinced, as I am sure most of us are that the broad principles that enabled successive Nigerian governments to interface development and security, and establish an organic link between national security and economic development with regional peace and prosperity is both impeccable and remains relevant. It is an approach which I commit myself to upholding and advancing.”
Optimism in the air
Although it was a thorny start for the Tinubu administration given the fallout of the subsidy removal and floating of the Naira, some stakeholders believe that the President’s choice of ministers shows that he is committed to turning the country’s fortunes around. The Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA), which described Wale Edun’s appointment as Minister of Finance as welldeserved, expressed the belief that the former Lagos State commissioner for Finance is well-equipped to steer Nigeria’s economy towards sustainable growth and development. The group, in a statement by its spokesperson, Mohammed Danlami, said Edun will bring his wealth of experience to address the economic challenges the country is facing at the moment. Edun served as commissioner for Finance under Tinubu as governor of Lagos State.
AYA’s statement read in part: “Mr. Edun’s appointment is a round peg in a round hole. His appointment did not come as a surprise to us and many Nigerians given his extensive experience as an economist, local and international banker, and former Lagos State commissioner of Finance. So, our group, strongly believes that his tenure as Minister of Finance will usher in a new era of progress and prosperity for Nigeria.” Similarly, members of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), the highest decision-making body of the Lagos State chapter of the APC, described Edun’s appointment as a recognition of his exceptional capabilities, profound knowledge and unwavering commitment to national progress.
“With an extensive background in finance, coupled with his strategic insights and dedication to Nigeria’s growth, Mr. Edun is undoubtedly a valuable asset to the government. His previous roles and accomplishments in both public and private sectors reflect his deep understanding of economic dynamics and financial management. “As Mr. Edun embarks on this pivotal journey, the GAC wholeheartedly believes that his leadership will drive substantial positive change in the nation’s economic landscape. We are confident that his innovative ideas, coupled with his ability to navigate complex financial matters, will contribute to Nigeria’s sustainable development and global economic standing,” the group said in a statement signed by its Secretary, Mutiu Are. Similar optimism was expressed on the capability of the immediate past governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, who will head the Ministry of Works.
Umahi was drafted into the cabinet from the Senate by the President. A former presidential aspirant of the APC, Chief Charles Udeogaranya, who praised Tinubu for having an “insight to place a round peg in a round hole,” described Umahi as a rare talent. He said: “President Tinubu was right with his appointment of Engr. Dave Umahi as Minister of Works. This appointment has calmed several frayed nerves over his low numerical ministerial nominees from the SouthEast. “It has once again proved that the handshake across the Niger is not totally neglected, and what Umahi did in Ebonyi State as governor will surely be replicated across Nigeria. So, the President has scored 100 over 100 with this singular appointment.”
The air of optimism in the President’s camp, notwithstanding, some analysts believe that there is little or no hope that the cabinet will perform given the track records of some of the ministers-designates. Secretary General of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Willy Ezugwu, told New Telegraph in an interview the expectation was the President would go for technocrats, who will focus more on delivering dividends of democracy to Nigerians and not politicians, who are out to perpetuate themselves in public offices.
“The state of the economy and the removal of fuel subsidy by the President have inflicted severe hardship on Nigerian, so I had expected that the President will go for competent hands like former President Olusegun Obasanjo did by going outside the shores of the country to bring Nigerian technocrats in the Diaspora, who helped him to revamp our economy between 1999 and 2007, when he was in power. “Most of the people Tinubu appointed are there to make money because I don’t see what value the former governors, he went for will add to his government. I also don’t see what the former members of the National Assembly, who made the cabinet will offer to Nigerians. Again, how can a President, who is running a bloated administration, ask Nigerians to tighten their belts? It is unfortunate that Nigeria that claims to be the giant of Africa has turned to a laughing stock before the comity of nations,” Ezugwu said.
Stakeholders set agenda for ministers
No doubt President has a manifesto, which he intends to implement, but some stakeholders, who spoke with New Telegraph, stressed the need for the ministers to show patriotism in the course of discharging the respective responsibilities that would be assigned to them. A former Minister of Finance, National Planning and Transport, Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, told New Telegraph in an interview that the way the ministries have been restructured by President Tinubu affords the minister the opportunity to focus on details that will help revamp the various sectors and sub-sectors of the nation’s economy.
His words: “First of all, I may not agree with those who believe that the number is too large, but I assume that everybody, including the President, knows that we don’t have the resources to spend the way we have been doing. So, they have to look at the cost of governance. “I will say that the number of people in the cabinet is good because it signifies that there are a lot of things that are wrong with the economy. Every sector and subsector need urgent attention. So, it is on that basis that I will say that number is not too large. “Given the way the various subsectors have been further broken down, if you have competent people like the President has chosen, they should be able to focus on detailed areas that if you are to lump them together because we don’t have funds, we will not be doing ourselves any good. So, it is good to have the number; it is also good for competent people to look at things the way they have been broken down. It can further be broken down, but I think we will not want go beyond 48 for now.
“Some people have been talking about less than 20, but the most important thing is that in whatever you do, whether it is in education, higher education, tertiary education and all the levels of technical education, we need to set new policies in order to groom competent professionals. This should be the time to look at all the cut-off points and quota systems and administer the education sector as one sector at the various levels. “If you want to look at the power sector, it is the same thing. Privatisation was supposed to allocate power to those who know what to do; it was not to allocate to friends and comrades. It was meant to open up the entire sector to the whole world for people to bring in expertise and resources to complement what we have, so that by now, Nigeria would have 10 times what we have because the economy will need it to grow at the level it is supposed to grow. We are talking about six or seven per cent or even higher.
“The same thing applies to all the other sectors – health, economy, digital economy, agriculture, works, safety nets and others – in order to create a revenue base that is commensurate with the resource base that we have because we are one of the lowest in terms of Revenue Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio. “So, the number is not too large, but we must make sure that people are duly compensated and not lavishly like we used to do or taking a cue from the United States or Britain, which are more larger economies per capita basis. The ministers should be compensated and made to work; it is not for them to be earning lavish salaries, it is for them to show their patriotism and help the President achieve his objectives. There is no single area that we can be proud to say that we have achieved much be it capacity development, manpower development, power sector, agriculture sector, manufacturing sector, health sector or education sector.
“The restructuring that is going on should have been spread across a budget year or more but the government has decided to do an instantaneous thing, so it imposes a lot of burden on the cost of industry or enterprise. So, any effort that can be made to ameliorate it by walking a little bit of the back like they have done in Kenya, should be done. The instant removal of the piled up subsidies could have been spread out to give operators and consumers increased costs and prices that are more absorbable within distinct time frames.” A chieftain of apex Igbo body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Chekwas Okorie, on his part, said while it is expected that the President would have done his home work in setting out terms of references for the respective ministers in order to implement what he promised Nigerians during the campaign, but his elaborate Renewed Agenda policy framework, he must ensure efficient supervision of the ministers.
His words: “Each of the minister is the political head of the ministry assigned to him or her. They may be professionals in their ministries area of focus or not, but they are the alter ego of the President in their respective ministries, so it is their duty to put together the men and resources in their respective ministries to achieve maximum positive results and make the government to succeed. “Why I say they may be professionals or not is because I have read many people talk about round pegs in round holes and square pegs in square holes, and whether some persons have backgrounds in particular ministries. It is not in all ministries that one must have a cognate experience before one can deliver. Besides the Ministry of Justice, all one needs is to be a good political head to perform optimally in the other ministries. In every ministry we have in Nigeria, there are so many civil servants, who have enough experience, so it is the duty of the minister to harness what is already there and make sure that men and resources are put together to achieve set goals. “So, the President should come up with a well-defined yardstick that would be used to appraise the ministers. It shouldn’t be what we experience under the Muhammadu Buhari administration, which put Nigeria in this deplorable situation we are. A president has the power to hire and fire, so any minister, who fails to live up to expectation should be removed and replaced with someone who has the capacity to deliver because the bulk stops on his table.” A chieftain of the ruling party and former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, who shares Okorie’s view on supervision of the ministers by the President, equally reiterated the need for them to adhere strictly to Tinubu’s programmes as contained in his Renewed Agenda manifesto. He said: “It is the party’s responsibility to provide leadership because it is the party that would be injured if things don’t work out at the end of the day.
People didn’t vote for any of the ministers, so the party should not solely rely on their competence. The competence of a minister will be determined by the way he or she interprets the manifesto of the party to the benefit of the people.” Ogunlewe, however, proposed that the APC leadership should constitute a committee that will have some of its cerebral members for the purpose of policy formulation to avoid distortion of the party’s programmes by the ministers, particularly the technocrats. “When the campaigns were going on, the ministers, especially the technocrats were not there. They didn’t campaign for Mr. President. The governors that made the ministerial list campaigned and they know what they told the people during the campaigns. So, they are better positioned to implement the policies that will please the people far more than the technocrats. “In the area of technology, industry and finance, the technocrats can fit in, but the welfare of the people belongs to the party. The minister in charge of the economy will drive the economy of the country but in the area of welfare, where policy will affect the majority of the electorate, politicians know what the electorate need, not the theorists who are academics. So, let the technocrats take over the economy but the welfare of the people belongs to the politicians.
Readiness for the task ahead
Some of the new ministers, who spoke on their readiness for the task ahead expressed optimism that they will not disappoint both President Tinubu and Nigerians. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in a statement, last week, via his handle on X (formerly Twitter): said, “Thank you, Mr. President. On my honour, I promise not to disappoint.” Similarly, Bosun Tijani (Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy), expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for the opportunity “to build a bigger and better future for all Nigerians.” Tijani, via his handle on X, said: “It’s an exciting time to build a bigger and better future for all Nigerians. Grateful to the President @officialABAT for the opportunity to join his team working to deliver a more inclusive and prosperous Nigeria.
“I look forward to working with all stakeholders to raise the level of productivity across our economy through the smart application of technology.” John Enoh (Minister of Sports), who also spoke through the social media, shared an insight of his multifaceted approach to bring about positive change and transformation in the sector. He highlighted the pivotal role that financial restructuring and organisational re-engineering will play in driving the transformation of the Ministry of Sports, adding that he is set to oversee all sporting activities in Nigeria to usher in a new era for the nation’s sports landscape. His words: “This experience will provide the necessary support in financial restructuring and organisational re-engineering of the Ministry of Sports. Hopefully, this appointment will begin the process of repositioning the sector as a critical economic sector in Nigeria,” he said.
