Following the clamour for a slim government and a reduction in the cost of governance, President Bola Tinubu has been asked to implement the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.

Senior lawyers, civil society groups, and other stakeholders, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard, faulted what they described as a large number of ministerial nominees sent to the Senate for screening and confirmation.

They argued that, in the face of dwindling economic fortunes and hardship occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidy, Tinubu ought to lead by example by cutting down on the cost of governance starting with reducing the number of ministers and presidential aides.

Meanwhile, the Rule of Law and Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), dismissed the claim that the federal cabinet is too large.

“We don’t think the government is too large because it is not about the largeness of the government but rather prudent management of our resources, I think that is the bottom line”, RULAAC Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said.

Jostle for the allocation of portfolios by the President after ongoing screening by the Senate appeared to have also begun as a group, Democracy Forever, at the weekend, made a case for young people in the soon-to-be-formed cabinet.

“It is not fortuitous that a fairly significant number of the ministerial nominees recently screened by the Senate are young people. The list includes Stella Okotete, 38, Hanatu Musawa, 43, Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, 41; Betta Edu, 36, and Joseph Terlumun Utsev, 40. In delivering his Renewed Hope agenda, President Bola Tinubu is no doubt cognizant of the invaluable role of young, dynamic and patriotic ministers. The President recognizes the need for his cabinet to be fairly representative, and frowns at the tendency to exclude the youth from the highest positions of leadership and thus lose the input of a significant portion of the population”, the group said in a statement. ““The profiles of the young ministers-designate no doubt raises cause for cheer. They have robust achievements that belie their years and have proven to be distinguished personalities across a broad range of endeavours. For instance, Betta Edu, a former Commissioner for Health in Cross River State, holds a postgraduate diploma and masters degree in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a doctorate from the Texilla American University. She was in fact the national chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum, and won the Medical Expert of the Year award in 2020. In the same vein, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the member currently representing Akoko North East/Akoko North West Federal Constituency of Ondo State at the Green Chamber, is a distinguished personality. ““However, neither Tunji-Ojo nor his colleagues will be judged by their academic/professional profile. Rather, they will be judged by their delivery of the mandates of their respective ministries in such as way as to facilitate the escape of millions of Nigerians from squalor. Currently, Nigerians are experiencing deep pains as a result of the removal of subsidy on PMS and floating of the naira, and it is important for the young ministers to demonstrate that their nomination by President Tinubu was the right decision. Doing so will, among other things, inspire hope in Nigerian youth and put the country on the path of recovery. They should work hard and make the country super proud of them”.

Recall that the President, last Wednesday, submitted a supplementary ministerial list of 19 nominees to the Senate after he had earlier submitted a list of 28 nominees to the red chamber.

He followed up with the submission of additional name – Mr Festus Keyamo – on Friday.

The lists of 48 nominees, which mean the Tinubu cabinet will be five members larger than Buhari’s last cabinet of 43 members, are made up of nine former governors including Nyesom Wike, David Umahi, Nasiru El-Rufai and Abubakar Badaru.

Other former governors nominated are Adegboyega Oyetola, Atiku Bagudu, Bello Matawalle, Ibrahim Geidam, and Simon Lalong.

Analysts at the weekend put the number of the soon-to-be constituted cabinet at 68 after adding the 20 Special Advisers who are also of cabinet rank and approved for the President by the National Assembly to the 48 ministerial nominees.

Oronsaye committee was set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 due to sustained campaigns for cost-cutting measures in governance across the board by concerned Nigerians, comprised mostly of economists, financial analysts, stakeholders, and public sector commentators.

The committee submitted an 800-page report on April 16, 2012, which recommended the abolition and merger of 102 government agencies and parastatals, while some were listed to be self-funding. It also recommended, among other things, the discontinuation of government funding of professional bodies and councils.

However, eleven years on, there has been a lull in the actions toward implementing the recommendations of the report.

The present government has not shown any commitment that it would reduce, harmonise or merge some agencies as recommended in the report.

Old ways

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Yusuf Alli, said there’s a consensus that, among the steps that need to be taken to address the economic challenges of Nigeria, is to reduce the size of government.

“That was one of the key recommendations of the Oronsaye panel and experts agree on the fact that we need to slim down the size of government, that means reducing the number of people appointed into political offices”, Alli said.

“To achieve this, appointments must be restricted to those that are necessary and not used as a means of political patronage for political allies.

“In any case, how much are those being appointed fit for purpose? For example, are you putting round pegs in round holes? Why is the President recycling former governors and those who have served as ministers before? Moreso, some of the nominees are people of questionable character facing investigation for corruption.

“So, clearly, this government is not departing from the old ways of running government which have not helped us make any progress. So for me, his actions have been very disappointing.”

Illegal appointment

Similarly, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, also a SAN, tasked the President to lead by example by implementing Oronsaye’s report.

This is as he said the present administration has not made any sacrifice in running the affairs of the nation.

“The law says the President should send the names of ministerial nominees to the National Assembly within 60 days of swearing-in. As of July 27 when the President sent the 28 names to the Senate, he did not comply with the Constitution.

“The President has no right to send the names piecemeal. So, having not sent the 38 nominees as contained in the Constitution as of July 27, all the other names that were forwarded did not comply with the Constitution.

“So, all the people being appointed are not appointed according to the Constitution.

“Second, if the President says we should embrace austerity measures and make sacrifices, he has to lead by example starting with implementing the Oronsaye’s report and scraping those parastatals that are draining the resources of our nation.

“That report is before the President. It has been gathering dust in Aso Rock for many years.

“But in this case, the President has added to the number of ministers instead of reducing and we now have 48.

“So, what the President is doing is different from what he’s preaching because if he’s asking us to embrace austerity and he is increasing the cost of governance, and living in luxury, that cannot be a good message to the people.”

Nothing to cheer

Also, Chief Mike Ozekohme, SAN, said there was nothing to cheer about the ministerial nominees.

His words: “Why take over two months to form a cabinet of the same known faces – an admixture of politicians, past governors and his former cabinet members in Lagos State when he was governor?

“Wrong decisions, showing cluelessness over our monumental and intractable problems. “Therefore, there is really nothing to cheer about at all. It is all business as usual. No gravitas, panache, difference.”

Leading by example

Contributing, Deputy Director, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare, stated that the government must show the way and lead by example by cutting down on the number of ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs.

“It is not about the number but the actual cost of governance. So, cutting down ministries, departments and agencies is a good way to start”, Oluwadare said.

“The buck stops at Mr. President’s table to lead by example. So it’s not about the number of ministers appointed. Again, the president appointing past governors is not the issue, rather, it’s about the capacity of those that have been appointed to actually work for the interest of Nigerians”.

But, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, said if the President sticks to one nominee per state, he might end up having only politicians in his cabinet.

Executive Director, RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said: “The Constitution states that the President must pick a minister from every state and then of course, being a politician, there are certain interests you will have to consider.

“If the President sticks to a minister from each state and the FCT, that is 37, he may likely end up picking only politicians but you also need technocrats in government who never took part in politics but whose contributions to national growth and development are quite critical.

“Again, we don’t think the government is too large because it’s not about the largeness of the government but rather prudent management of our resources, we think that’s the bottom line.

“The resources available for projects should be prudently managed and ensure that we did not allow corruption to creep into how the government is run. I think that’s the most important thing for me.”

Political reward

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, also weighed in on the issue, noting that the list was a deliberate attempt to reward political gladiators who played significant roles in the build-up to the elections.

The group regretted that public offices have become a tool to gratify cronies and allies.

The Conflict Advisor, CISLAC, Salaudeen Hashim, noted that the supplementary lists were nothing but a deep dive into the abyss.

“This is not a lamentation, but a reminder that we cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result”, Hashim.

“On the characters of nominees, we have tested but untrusted politicians and technocrats on one list. He went deep to bring politicians who can swim through this difficult tide.

“We also have individuals with baggage owing to their previous enterprise within the political landscape. There is a challenge with morality on that list. The integrity of the list requires some level of baptism to gain prominence or acceptance amongst Nigerians.

“To be honest, the list came below expectations and the President will need to work twice as hard to get these guys to work. They are experienced in the manipulation of public office and in playing truancy with governance. There might be difficulty in managing the characters on that list”. (Sunday Vanguard)

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