By Ogbuefi Ndigbo
LAGOS JULY 17TH (URHOBOTODAY)-President Muhammadu Buhari [pictured] on Thursday and with immediate affect dissolved the governing boards of all federal parastatals, agencies and institutions. According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, until the boards are reconstituted, the Chief Executive Officers of the affected parastatals, agencies and institutions are to refer all matters requiring the attention of their boards to Mr President, through the Permanent Secretaries of their supervising ministries.
PMB Dissolves Parastatals, agencies, institutions, Boards, no replacement?
Two months into Buhari’s presidency and 4 months after winning the presidential election, Nigerians find themselves trapped in a maddening guessing game. Buhari has yet to name a single minister. He has not selected his chief of staff or any policy aides. He has finally replaced the military top brass — but there is no defense minister to oversee them.
Femi Adesina, a presidential spokesman, said on July 7 that Buhari was still getting briefed by bureaucrats — in the absence politically appointed ministers, the top career civil servants, known as permanent secretaries, are in charge — and will name his cabinet in “the fullness of time.”
And now bearing in mind some quangos have tenured offices created by the Constitution and the various Statutes. Mr President Buhari saved those under the Constitution and struck down all agencies, boards, parastatals and Institutions in their hundreds under Statutes.
“That’s a bit too much!”, exclaimed Attorney Carol Ajie, a Nigerian lawyer.
She added: Nigerian’s recall that as at 7-8 June when he attended the G-7 summit, Buhari called German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President “Mitchelle” of “West Germany”, now that Mr President has enormous sole-administrator’s style, to oversee, he would receive direct reports over a hundred boards, parastatals, commissions, and Institutions.
“His trip is 3 days away, President Buhari should go easy please, at this rate he’d probably see USA President Obama and call him President of the United States of “Africa”. You know Obama is African-American Dad Kenyan. Expect more of his diplomatic gaffes.”
Without a government in place, Buhari has resorted to bringing advisors without official titles on his trips outside the country — to Niger and Chad, Nigeria’s allies against Boko Haram; to Germany for a G-7 summit; and to South Africa for an African Union meeting. When Buhari meets with President Obama in Washington, D.C. on July 20, it is unclear who will travel in his delegation to meet U.S. officials, or in what capacity.
Just like in the United States, it can take some time in Nigeria to appoint a full cabinet and for Parliament to confirm its members. But the vacancies at all positions, even on the president’s own policy team — the equivalent of White House aides — have left even savvy observers scratching their heads.
“Not filling key positions makes people wonder how ready he could be,” one Abuja political insider said, requesting anonymity in order to speak frankly. “For many, the appointments are the most basic decisions he is expected to make. And while they will not be perfect, not doing anything at all suggests fear and uncertainty.”“For many, the appointments are the most basic decisions he is expected to make. And while they will not be perfect, not doing anything at all suggests fear and uncertainty.”
Nwadishi Faith. Executive Director, Koyenum Immalah Foundation (KIF) expressed concern that “with the dissolution of a board like the NSWG of NEITI , it means the suspension of EITI in Nigeria. No multi stakeholders group no EITI.”
in the article, ‘Buhari’s (Nearly) Bare Cabinet’ SIDDHARTHA MITTER wrote in part:
“With multiple economic indicators in the red, and chronic woes such as fuel shortages and a deeply dysfunctional electric power system sapping Nigeria’s competitiveness, each week without policy leadership in key ministries chips away at the country’s economic position, and keeps domestic and foreign investors guessing. “Buhari has yet to constitute an economic team to lead Nigeria out of its challenges,” Onigbinde said. “There is a lack of policy direction. We are rudderless.”
“To some extent, Buhari’s delay stems from a dysfunctional transition process. The outgoing Jonathan administration handed over its “transition notes” only four days before Buhari’s inauguration. Nigeria has never before had a transition between democratically elected governments of opposing parties; it also lacks a formal transition process and budget. “We are in uncharted territory here,” said Tunji Lardner, a media consultant and prominent civil society activist. Buhari’s own transition team delivered its recommendations — an 800-page tome — on June 12, two weeks into his term.
“Yet Buhari may have tactical reasons to delay staffing up as well. In particular, a series of recent moves suggest he is ramping up efforts to tackle corruption. By keeping vacant ministerial posts — prime positions for graft through bribery and fraudulent contracting — Buhari has given himself time to vet candidates on his own. And launching audits and prosecuting top officials sends a message to potential appointees and their political patrons: stay on the straight and narrow.
“The National Economic Council, an advisory body chaired by the vice president that includes all the state governors, is reviewing the government’s oil revenue accounts, along with those of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Recent revelations capped by the release of an international audit report point to some $18 billion of unaccounted-for NNPC revenue, and another $2 billion mysteriously drawn down from a federal account in the last few years. Because the states depend on oil revenue, the team of four governors leading the review is unlikely to let the powerful and opaque NNPC off easily.
“According to local press reports, Buhari also ordered the outgoing military service chiefs to provide a full account of arms procurement in the anti-Boko Haram campaign. Nigeria’s defense budget is roughly $2 billion, but troops fighting the insurgency have found themselves chronically under-equipped, and soldiers and watchdog groups have alleged widespread corruption in military purchasing.
“There are signs, too, of a crackdown on corruption by top officials. One vehicle for this process is the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which has brought new cases against several former governors. Rumors in Abuja also have it that the presidency is pressuring targeted individuals to return ill-gotten gains in exchange for some kind of amnesty, a method that may be effective but lacking in transparency. “There are a lot of things happening under the radar, especially in the oil sector,” said Lardner. “They are squeezing these oil boys and making them uncomfortable.”
“In the Machiavellian universe of Nigerian politics, Buhari’s approach has a certain logic.In the Machiavellian universe of Nigerian politics, Buhari’s approach has a certain logic. The APC is not a cohesive party, but the result of a 2013 merger of four parties, each with its own powerful faction heads and patronage networks, some along regional lines and others across them. Buhari’s election launched intense jockeying for positions, including a fight between APC factions for leadership positions in Parliament. In addition, Nigerian law requires that each state be represented by a minister or junior minister in the federal government — an attempt to compel ethnic balance that doubles as a patronage channel for regional power brokers. In delaying these appointments and keeping his deliberations secret, Buhari may be forcing all the aspirants to restrain their behavior. “There is a Buhari effect,” Lardner said. “These guys are being very careful.”
“Yet Buhari’s political reasons for delaying appointments must be balanced against the growing restiveness of public opinion and, most of all, the lack of accountability that comes when unofficial advisers are running a country. “We can’t use non-state actors to run official positions,” said Onigbinde. “It’s inappropriate.” He urged that Buhari name, at the very least, his chief of staff and top policy aides. Compounding the problem is Buhari’s “lackluster” media team, as one Abuja insider put it, which has been haphazard and reactive, earning widespread derision on social media, and squandering the opportunity to explain directly what the president is doing.
“Next week in Washington, where major security issues will surely be on the agenda, the composition of Buhari’s delegation will prompt fresh speculation back home. It will also draw scrutiny from U.S. policymakers interested in rebuilding a cordial but complicated relationship, harmed last year by the cancellation of a military training plan, and more recently by a new Amnesty International report detailing widespread abuses by the Nigerian military.
“Already, Buhari’s understaffed government leaves him dangerously exposed: Though he now has new military chiefs, he does not have ministers or top personnel to deploy in the event of a political or economic crisis, or to take the fall on his behalf when something goes wrong. Some Abuja observers expect appointments soon, but others caution that it might take several more months. In that scenario, Buhari risks a crisis of democratic accountability — not a good look for a former military ruler.”
Written by Ogbuefi Ndigbo (+447460770987)