At long last, the Senate has screened most of the ministerial nominees. It was an exercise that was long over-due and this didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the populace who waited anxiously to know how the proposed cabinet members will implement the change mantra which is the cardinal thrust of the Buhari government.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Dino Melaye unduly raised the hopes of Nigerians when he said that this would be a different type of screening as the age long practice of letting former senators to take a bow and go would be jettisoned for a thorough grueling. I viewed this with intense skepticism as I saw it as mere grandstanding given the double lips speaking nature of an average Nigerian politician.
I was proved right as the former Senators screened so far – Udo Udoma, Jumai Al Hassan, Chris Nwabueze Ngige were asked to take a bow and go after speaking for such a short time. It was worse than the combination of a comedy of errors and a farce. The ludicrousness was taken to the acme when Lai Mohammed was also asked to bow and go. One wonders why as he was never a Senator! The Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio alluded to his propagandist prowess. Is that a subtle insinuation that the ministry of information which he is touted to head does not have an intellectual input that should have kept the APC Spokesman on his toes in an intense grilling for over an hour? Trust was really betrayed by our ‘representatives’.
Former Ekiti State Governor, John Kayode Fayemi was not surprisingly given a thorough screening. His background in history, international relations and war studies made the questions centered around foreign policy, development and public policy as he is touted to head either the foreign affairs or internal affairs ministry. He mentioned that poverty was not inevitable and that China was able to lift millions of her citizens out of the grinding scourge within a relatively short time. The foreign policy thrust of our current should be balanced between the west and the BRICS; there is the need to make our public schools attractive as the bulk of the citizenry attend them and education should be a tool of social climbing. He was truly concerned about the mind boggling state of unemployment and opined that the policies in the technical and vocational part of our educational policies should be made to work. He debunked the rumour making the rounds that he bought a 50 million naira bed which was concocted to portray him as anti-people and to put a gargantuan question mark on his credential as a development expert. He also highlighted the positive aspect of debt as the United States which we all admire for her economic prosperity is neck deep in debt.
Erstwhile Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola held his own and was among the longest screened candidates. He feigned ignorance on the 78 million naira website and 300 million for the sinking of a borehole when the question was posed to him by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe who represents Abia North. He said he never signed cheques while he was governor. It was clear he wasn’t ready to be vicariously liable. I expected the senators to ask a follow up question whether he was going to still display the same lackadaisical attitude as a minister but silence on the matter was all we got. He admitted his limitations when he said he wasn’t as knowledgeable of Abuja as he was of Lagos. He called for the decentralization of the Nigerian Police Force to make it more efficient. He opened the eyes of the tax authorities to the use of online methods in the tax collection which skyrocketed during his administration. He saw criminals as competitors to the government as the core duty of the latter was to give maximum protection to the citizens. His ‘high rating’ in Lagos was attributed to team work and not solo effort – an attribution of his ‘humility’. BRF’s screening was arguably the best of the lot so far.
Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the GMD of the NNPC showed his immense grasp of the thorny issues plaguing the troubled oil and gas sector. He opened our eyes to the fact that 50% of the NNPC Subsidy came from kerosene, our refineries have a lifespan of 50 – 60 years depending on the level of maintenance, the nation loses $15 billion annually for passing the petroleum industry bill, he tacitly called for the discontinuation of subsidy as it was wrapped in massive fraud and called for the unbundling of the corporation. He dismissed the insinuation that salaries were being owed and that the corporation had one of the best retirement packages. He also promised a more transparent NNPC by ensuring that the Senators will get a monthly report on both the corporation and the petroleum ministry. Without any iota of doubt we can confidently say that a Daniel has indeed come to judgement in the sector that made mincemeat of the sterling qualities of Diezani Allison-Maduekwe.
Audu Ogbeh showed his in-depth knowledge of the agricultural sector and advised quite well on the way forward for the largely neglected sector that was once the mainstay of our economy before the arrival of the curse of oil. He dashed the hopes of Nigerians who wanted to know the true circumstances of his departure as PDP Chairman.
Kemi Adeosun had some controversy bordering on financial impropriety as petitions were submitted against her candidature. She did comparably well in the exercise. She said the swan sing song that the non-oil sector was not growing, strategies must be implemented to boost the internal generated revenues and creative ways must be sought to stimulate the economy. She commended the treasury single account policy of the government as it reduces the borrowing capacity and greatly improves the visibility of revenue. She was alarmed that 78% of our budget was being on recurrent expenditure and that this had to stop if we were to make progress.
As at the time of this writing, 18 of the nominees have been confirmed. We hope that by latest next month they will hit the ground running with square pegs being put in square holes.
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