Boards’ Dissolution: Matters Arising

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, recently, gave a directive that the boards of over 153 agencies, parastatals, institutions, and government-owned companies, 209 of which were constituted by former President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2017, be dissolved. The former president had constituted some those agencies at the twilight of his administration.

A statement from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation that made public the presidential directive explained that only boards of commissions and councils listed in the third schedule, part one section 153 (i) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were excluded from the president’s directive.

The Nigeria Judicial Council, Code of Conduct Bureau; Council of State; Federal Character Commission; Federal Civil Service Commission; Independent National Electoral Commission; National Population Commission; Police Service Commission; and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission are part of the agencies excluded from the directive.

Public service watchers claim that the decision was part of a house cleaning exercise to enable the new administration put its own structures in place and in the hands of those it has confidence in to achieve its programmes, policies, goals and objectives. However, it is also seen by political pundits as part of a process to create openings for politicians and their cronies who may want to be compensated for their role in bringing in the new government.

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This is to be expected as appointments, at whatever level, in any new dispensation, is considered as an avenue for the ruling party to reward and empower party loyalists and supporters. In some instances, the appointing authority, in this case, President Tinubu, believed to be an astute political gamemaster, may want to use the process to heal the wounds of electioneering by making some gestures to other political interests so as to reduce the feelings of loss and make governance processes less acrimonious. 

It is not clear, though, when he plans to constitute the new boards even as intensive lobbying and influence peddling is already heightened. Nevertheless, there are speculations that the new boards may not likely come into being before the appointment of ministers who these institutions and their boards report to.

Without doubt, it is the prerogative of the President to decide whether he wants only party members or technocrats as members of these boards that are considered as the effective machineries that drive the implementation of government policies. Even at that, it is the opinion of this newspaper that there should be a paradigm shift this time round having regard to the nepotistic predilections of the past administration that sacrificed competence and efficiency on the altar of next- of- kin.

From the appointments already announced by the president and the conscious respect for the sensitivity of Nigerians so far demonstrated, we expect that the frenzy being generated by the jostling and hustling ought not to becloud Tinubu’s inclination to look out for competence and capacity in the delivery of his agenda.

We are persuaded to stress this point because of the relevance of these boards to the governance system. There are allegations that under the outgone administration, the agencies became cesspool of corruption and unimaginable treasury looting that tarred the image of not just the party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) but also the government bearing in mind that it came into office parroting the mantra of anti-corruption.

This disturbing trend was further compounded by the overarching pecuniary tendencies of the National Assembly as its members, constitutionally empowered to carry out oversight functions on these boards, instead turned that noble intention of the authors of the constitution into money making ventures.

We hope that President Tinubu will look out for this conspiratorial affection between the boards and the legislators and bring in individuals of strong character with a level of integrity that can enable them to resist the lure of filthy lucre even in the face of obvious possibilities. Sadly, in our view, this is too much to ask for in an environment where politics is seen as an investment and appointments, of whatever kind, opportunities to recoup and with healthy interests.  

Is this demand for credibility, integrity and honesty achievable in the Nigerian situation? Our response is a resounding yes if the President insists on changing the narrative and giving Nigerians something to cheer. This, in our view, will require a thinking outside the confines of the political box. Tinubu must, in the interest of the long-suffering Nigerians, re-engineer the system in such a way that posterity will hold him in good stead. This will entail a deliberate effort not to depend only on political affiliations.

It is pertinent to call his attention to the fact that, should he strive to toe the line of statesmanship and act only in the national interest, there will be stout resistance even from his own camp. Should he proceed regardless, it is our opinion that he will succeed in opening for himself a refreshing page in the annals of history.

Whatever he decides to do, this newspaper appeals to him to end the drift, clear the rot and put back Nigeria on the path of rectitude. The stench in the agencies and their boards must be cleansed as a matter of patriotic duty.