President Bola Tinubu appears unwilling to reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria as he has forwarded a list of 19 more ministerial nominees to the senate for screening and confirmation.
Development Diaries reports that the president submitted the list to the Senator Godswill Akpabio-led senate on 02 August, 2023.
The senate has already screened 28 ministerial nominees. With a list of 19 more nominees submitted to the red chamber, the country is on the verge of confirming 47 nominees for ministerial positions despite calls for a reduction in the cost of governance.
Although the president is required by the Nigerian constitution to appoint at least one minister from each of the country’s 36 states, adding 11 more suggests he is not sincere about reducing the cost of governance.
Nigeria spends very little on infrastructural development. Therefore, to free up more funds for development, the country’s cost of governance has to be significantly cut.
According to the World Bank 2022 Public Expenditure Review, Nigeria ranked among countries with the lowest human development index in the world, with a rank of 167 among 174 globally.
The report also noted that at the current rate of expenditure allocations, it would take the country 300 years to close its current infrastructure gap.
The high number of ministries, agencies, and parastatals have grown to be cogs in Nigeria’s development throughout the years because of their overgrown bureaucracy.
President Tinubu must reduce the expense of governance preventing the growth of Africa’s greatest economy since he seeks to improve the country’s economic management.
Development Diaries condemns the appointment of 47 ministers at a time when Nigeria is heavily indebted and the masses are facing hardship caused by poor government policies.
The president’s action also shows that his government cannot be trusted as he had promised during his campaign for office to reduce the cost of governance.
We call for a necessary constitutional amendment that ends the mandatory appointment of ministers from all the states of the federation. Instead, ministers should be appointed from only the six geo-political zones of Nigeria.
Photo source: The Nigerian Senate
