As the Lagos State House of Assembly scrutinises the list of would- be cabinet members, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports on the growing fears and enthusiasm over their screening and portfolios
Since the list of would-be-cabinet members in Lagos State was made public on Monday, following Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s presentation of his list to the Lagos State House of Assembly for screening, Lagosians’ enthusiasm has continued to grow by the day.
It heightened further at the weekend following the long adjournment of the Assembly after constituting a committee to scrutinise the list before presenting it to the House for screening.
Before the adjournment, it was speculated that the new cabinet may be inaugurated tomorrow, Monday, October 5, 2015.
While some Lagosians feel slightly disappointed that the Monday inauguration date can no longer materialise, others see it as a good development that will give the lawmakers enough time to do a good job.
It would be recalled that the House, during the week, adjoined till October 13, implying that the 15 member committee to be chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Eshilokun-Sanni Wasiu, cannot submit its report earlier than Tuesday, October 13. Responding to the development, a member of the committee, Segun Olulade, had told newsmen earlier that the development “will give the House the opportunity to do its job thoroughly.”
So, as the lawmakers screen the nominees, concerned stakeholders, who spoke to The Nation on the matter during the week, said this is the time for Ambode to take a deeper look at the area of core competence of each of the soon to be declared cabinet members and ensure they are given the right portfolios, for this is the only way to achieve his lofty dreams.
Most of the stakeholders said special attention should be paid to the fresh entrants, especially the young professionals in the team, who may not have the “wide political connection of the politicians amongst them” but “who have great innovative ideas that will take the state higher.” They therefore advised the governor to put round pegs in round holes.
As Olugbenga Akande, a political activist, puts it in a chat with The Nation this Friday, “We are making too much fuss over the screening of the cabinet members. If you take a good look at the list, you will agree that the nominees are of class A and should therefore be accepted by the Assembly. What should concern us now is that Governor Ambode would not be swayed by political pressure to give wrong portfolios.
He must put round pegs in round holes. With a well known professor of law, Prof. Ademola Abass and about five other lawyers, three doctors, two journalists, including former Managing Director, National Mirror, Steve Ayorinde and financial experts like Akinyemi Ashade, a partner in the famous accounting firm, KPMG, Ambode should not have any difficulties in deciding who is professionally competent to supervise which ministry.”
In an earlier report during the week, Dr. Muyiwa Olakunle, a systems auditor in Lagos, had told The Nation, “I consider Governor Ambode’s list as bold and refreshing. I am particularly interested in the profile and achievement of the youthful professionals in the list. It takes courage, vision and focus to accommodate such young accomplished professionals in a politically complex state like Lagos. Yes, out of the 23 commissioners-to-be and the 13 special advisers-to-be, there are known politicians but to me, by injecting into the system, youthful fresh blood, including core professionals like Akinyemi Ashade, a partner in KPMG with special expertise on Financial Services Industry and others like Mrs. Yetunde Onabolu, Fela Bank-Olemoh, former Managing Director, National Mirror, Steve Ayorinde, Alhaja Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, a pharmacist, Kehinde Joseph and Prof. Ademola Abass, a professor of Law, Ambode is set to face the current challenges of today’s governance.”
For Alhaji Kehinde Yusuf, an economist, any government that wants to succeed must ensure that it has level headed financial experts in its cabinet. “Such experts should not also be there for the sake of it but should be made to supervise relevant departments like finance, planning, budget office, works, etc. Given the realities of Nigerian and global economy, every government must allow experts to guild it in its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) drive and in its expenditure habits.
I have always advocated use of dynamic professionals with credible private sector industry background instead of mere political nominees in critical areas like commissioners of finance, planning, budgeting, strategy, works and such like. This is why I am happy at the profile of the people that made Ambode’s list, especially the fresh blood, the young professionals he injected into the system. I think they are likely to evolve more innovative and effective ways of running government.
“While the inclusion of some cabinet members that worked with former Governor Babatunde Fashola confirms continuity in Lagos, the inclusion of these fresh blood, not just in a bid to satisfy political interests but on the basis of merit and competence, is reason enough to commend Ambode.”
Olajide Idris, a management consultant in Ikeja Business District, was more blunt in his response. “I think Ambode has scaled the first hurdle by injecting new blood into the system as he promised in his inaugural speech. What is remaining is to ignore political pressure and give these professionals core positions in line with their expertise. For example, financial experts, especially the ones with less political baggage, should be assigned to run finance, planning, budgeting ministries and whatever office that will oversee IGR. This should be the same for the other sectors. This is what I call putting round pegs in round holes. This is the only way to go.”
Other personalities that have publicly defended the pedigree of the nominees and called on the Assembly and the governor to do the needful include the senator representing Lagos West, Solomon Adeola, and the spokesperson of the Lagos State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Joe Igbokwe.
While Adeola said, “I must say I am impressed with the governor’s painstaking efforts in choosing a team that comprise a mixture of technocrats, politicians and strategists,” Igbokwe, in a statement, described the nominees as “cerebral and very competent personalities who can hold their heads high anywhere in the world and answer their fathers names if the need arises.”
