President Bola Tinubu has granted ministers of state full authority to oversee the agencies under their jurisdiction.
Previously, files related to these departments were forwarded to senior Nigerian ministers by permanent secretaries for approval.
TheCable exclusively reported that under the new policy, ministers of state are empowered to grant all necessary administrative approvals for the governance processes of their respective agencies.
A source within the office of the head of service of the federation told the newspaper: “The president was not pleased with the prevailing governing framework in which ministers of states were just ministers in name.”
This situation, according to Tinubu, led to the “underutilisation of the expertise and capabilities” of most ministers of state.
“The president believes ministers of state should have the right to make decisions and direct action within their areas of responsibility,” the official continued.
The idea, reportedly first proposed by Hadiza Bala Usman, the president’s special adviser on policy coordination, received immediate approval from Tinubu.
The new directive is aimed at “unleashing” the full potential of all the ministers, the source added. Tinubu’s cabinet consists of 48 ministers, 16 of whom are junior ministers.
Ministries with ministers of state include agriculture and food security, defence, education, FCT, foreign affairs, health, petroleum (oil), petroleum (gas), humanitarian and poverty reduction, and women affairs, among others.
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