Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, has declared that the ‘minister of state’ portfolio is a constitutional contradiction. He called on the federal government to appoint different ministers to handle individual portfolios instead. Keyamo made this suggestion during his valedictory speech at the council chambers of the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.
Elder statesmen and political analysts have called on the federal government to reduce governance based on the recommendations of Stephen Oronsaye’s white paper on public sector reforms. The report called for the abolition and merger of 102 government agencies and parastatals, with some being listed as self-funding. It also recommended that 263 statutory agencies should be reduced to 161, while 38 agencies should be abolished, and 52 agencies should merge. It further recommended that 14 agencies should revert to departments in ministries.
The Minister criticized the schedules of duties of both Ministers and Ministers of State, saying that they leave so many holes that pitch ministers against each other. Keyamo said that he does not want to be seen as an ingrate but lamented that successive governments had given the post ‘Minister of State’ to individuals who refused to speak out for fear of offending the president who appointed them.
He noted that the position of minister of state first appeared in the first republic as a contraption to give a semblance of “Government of National Unity” when, in fact, no real power was ceded to opposition members. The ultimate goal of this designation was to keep them under the leadership of the ruling party’s ministers since the practice had come to stay, arguing that many Ministers of State are largely redundant.
Much of the Ministers of State’s time is spent performing symbolic duties, and the files that are passed to them are treated only at the discretion of their colleagues to avoid being persecuted. Keyamo pointed out that Ministers of State are either praised or condemned for the successes or failures of their ministries, but over time this custom has evolved to become a norm. He also called out the provision that “Ministers of State” cannot present memos in Council without the permission of the Minister, saying that it is another anomaly because the discretion of the Minister of State is shackled under the discretion of the Minister.
Keyamo advised that the Ministry of Education be split into two separate ministries to focus on elementary and tertiary education, respectively. He also suggested that a Minister of Trade be appointed, as well as another Minister of Investment, and a Minister of Mines and another for Steel. He believes this is necessary to prevent a conflict of duties and enable the ministers to focus on their assigned duties because the present Ministers and Ministers of State have their separate offices, cars, security personnel, and personal aides.
Finally, Keyamo expressed his thanks to Mr. President for supporting him as his Minister to function optimally during his time in office. This recommendation was given respectfully for record purposes and for the sake of posterity. Lastly, the minister urged the federal government to correct this abnormality that has existed for ages.
