TheNewsGuru

Tag: Minister of State

  • Family, friends, well-wishers celebrate Agric minister of state at 58

    Family, friends, well-wishers celebrate Agric minister of state at 58

    Encomiums poured forth on January 10, 2025, as the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, CON, marked a quiet 58th birthday.

    In their tributes, aides, family, and friends variously described the Minister of State as “a true leader who inspires others to dream big and work hard,” “an amiable leader and astute professional whose tenacity, passion, patriotism, and drive towards improving Nigeria’s food and nutrition security is top-notch.”

    Sen. Sabi Abdullahi used the occasion to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for the privileged opportunity to serve the country under his administration. The Minister of State pledged to rededicate himself to the realization of the goals of the Renewed Hope Agenda, while urging Nigerians to persevere, as the current storms would soon be over.

    “I have no doubt in my mind that we would soon be at the desired national equilibrium,” Sen. Sabi Abdullahi said, adding that, “there are on-going programmes, projects, and initiatives whose maturation would yield salutary results by significantly easing prevailing challenges and resetting the country on the path of growth and shared prosperity.”

    He said that at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, there would be intensive focus on continuous cropping of identified staples all-year round, as a sure way of effectively boosting production and tackling food inflation.

    “We are going to see a lot of impetus with regard to soil health, which is critical to sustainable agricultural production,” the Minister of State noted.

    He pointed out that increased engagement with the Co-operative Movement among farmers, feed and fodder development for the livestock sector, as well as rural infrastructure and agri-based economy, are priority issues for the Ministry this year.

    A Veterinary Surgeon, the Minister of State was born on January 10, 1967. He was an officer in the then Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, before joining the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria. He thereafter, in the 8th and 9th National Assembly, became a two-term Senator representing Niger North Senatorial District. He was Spokesman for the 8th Senate and Deputy Minority Whip during the 9th Senate. He was appointed Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, in August 2023.

  • ICYMI: Fire engulfs FCT minister’s private residence

    ICYMI: Fire engulfs FCT minister’s private residence

    The private house of the Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr Mariya Mahmoud, has been gutted by fire with nothing left to salvage in the property.

    The property is located at No. 9, Justice Roseline Ukeji Close, Asokoro.

    The media aide to the minister, Mr. Austine Elemue, who confirmed the incident Sunday, said the cause of the fire outbreak was being investigated.

    The Acting Director of the FCT Fire Service, Amiola Adebayo, confirmed the incident.

    Adebayo stated that the first floor of the building was completely razed by the fire.

    He explained that the fire had started at about 9:45 am, but said officers of the Service arrived at the scene some minutes after they had received a running call after responders had tried to reach the Federal Fire Service.

    A running call means that rather than calling the Emergency line of the Fire Service, responders had insisted on going to the office to get the attention of the firemen.

    “The fire was discovered a few minutes to ten, maybe around 9:45 am. We received a running call around thirteen minutes after ten, so we followed the person who came to call us to the fire scene.

    “All of them were on the ground floor. They did not discover the fire on time, and they didn’t call the Fire Service. It was a running call that came to us. From our findings, they say they called the Federal Fire Service, but they didn’t respond on time, that’s when the running call came to our office.

    “On reaching there, we saw that the first floor, the upper floor was completely engulfed in fire. So what we could do is just to prevent the fire from spreading to the ground floor, and the adjacent structures. No lives lost”, he said.

    As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire was yet to be determined, although the media assistant to the minister, Austin Elemue, also confirmed the incident.

  • Why ‘Minister of State’ position was created – Shehu Sani

    Why ‘Minister of State’ position was created – Shehu Sani

    Shehu Sani a former lawmaker who represented Kaduna West at the Red Chamber has stated reasons why the position of ‘Minister of State’ was created,

    According to Sani,  the position of ‘Minister of State’ was created to settle people with ministerial appointments.

    The Kaduna born politician made this known via a  post on his verified Twitter handle on Friday, with  Sani saying that  the country has only twenty ministries.

    However, the social critic advocated cutting the cost of governance by reducing the number of ministers.

    He wrote, “When the country has only 20 ministries and the President has to settle 43 people with Ministerial appointments, the ‘Minister of State’ was invented. Cutting the cost of Governance should begin with cutting the number of ministers.”

  • Festus Keyamo knocks Buhari hard over Minister of State appointment

    Festus Keyamo knocks Buhari hard over Minister of State appointment

    In what is a valedictory punch, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo has knocked outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari very hard over the office of Minister of State.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Keyamo to have said “the concept or designation of “Minister of State” is a constitutional aberration and is practically not working for many so appointed”.

    Recall President Buhari first appointed Keyamo as Minister of State in the Ministry Niger Delta Affairs in August, 2019 and was later redeployed as Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

    “What I am about to say, therefore, is not and should not be construed as an indication of ingratitude. Far from it. What I am about to say is just my own little contribution to our constitutional development as a relatively young democracy and to aid future governments to optimize the performance of those they appoint as Ministers.

    “Mr. President, the concept or designation of “Minister of State” is a constitutional aberration and is practically not working for many so appointed. Successive governments have come and gone and many who were appointed as Ministers of State have not spoken out at a forum such as this because of the risk of sounding ungrateful to the Presidents who appointed them. However, like I said earlier, this is not ingratitude,” Keyamo wrote in his valedictory speech as Minister of State for Labour and Employment.

    Read the full valedictory speech by Festus Keyamo below:

    1. Mr. President, you first appointed me as Minister of State in the Ministry Niger Delta Affairs in August, 2019 and you later redeployed me as Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

    2. Today, I cannot find the words to express the depth of my gratitude to you for finding me worthy, out of over two hundred million Nigerians, to be nominated and subsequently appointed to serve as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. My curriculum vitae has been greatly enhanced – forever.

    3. From my very humble beginnings in a small dusty town in Delta State where I was born and raised by my struggling parents, all the way to the Council Chambers at the Presidential Villa where I had the honour and privilege to participate weekly in decision-making for my country in the last four years, it has been like a fairy tale. I give God all the glory.

    4. What I am about to say, therefore, is not and should not be construed as an indication of ingratitude. Far from it. What I am about to say is just my own little contribution to our constitutional development as a relatively young democracy and to aid future governments to optimize the performance of those they appoint as Ministers.

    5. Mr. President, the concept or designation of “Minister of State” is a constitutional aberration and is practically not working for many so appointed. Successive governments have come and gone and many who were appointed as Ministers of State have not spoken out at a forum such as this because of the risk of sounding ungrateful to the Presidents who appointed them. However, like I said earlier, this is not ingratitude.

    6. As a private citizen, I am on record to have gone to court a number of times to challenge unconstitutional acts of governments for the sake of advancing our constitutional democracy, so it will be out of character for me to have gone through government and be carried away by the pomp of public office and forget my role as a member of the Inner Bar and my self-imposed role over the years as a crusader for democracy and constitutionalism.

    7. Mr. President, I crave your indulgence to explain this constitutional conundrum of “Minister of State”. Sections 147 and 148 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), deal with the appointments and responsibilities of Ministers of the Federation. The said sections state as follows:

    Section 147

    “(1) There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.

    (2) Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.

    (3) Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:- provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each State, who shall be an indigene of such State.”

    Section 148

    “(1) The President may, in his discretion, assign to the Vice-President or any Minister of the Government of the Federation responsibility for any business of the Government of the Federation, including the administration of any department of government.”

    8. Furthermore, the 7th Schedule to the 1999 Constitution provides for the Oath of Office to which each Minister must subscribe. There are no different Oaths for “Minister” and “Ministers of State”. They all take the same Oath of Office.

    9. In addition to the above, the Ministers-designate appear before the Senate and are grilled and cleared AS MINISTERS, not as Ministers in some instances and Ministers of State in some other instances. It is at the point of assignment of portfolios that successive Presidents then reclassified some as “Ministers of State”.

    10. Some may want to justify this by saying the President is given the discretion by the Constitution to assign whatever responsibility(ies) he likes to Ministers. Yes, I concede Mr. President can do that, but not by a designation different from that prescribed by the Constitution. Simply put, it is akin to the President assigning responsibilities to the office of the Vice-President and re-designating that office as “Deputy President” under our present Constitution. That is clearly impossible. Why then should that of the Ministers be different?

    11. What is more, Ministers are appointed pursuant to Section 147(3) of the 1999 Constitution to represent each State of the Federation. Therefore, Ministers sit in Cabinet as the eye of Mr. President in each State of the Federation. It is therefore against the intendment of the drafters of our Constitution for a representative of a State to be reclassified as against another representative of another State.

    12. The Schedules of Duties of Ministers and Ministers of State that intend to cure some of these anomalies hardly help the issues. Firstly, the Schedules of Duties are observed more in breach by the Permanent Secretaries and Directors who really cannot be expected to serve two masters. And in any case, many of the roles of both Ministers are so ambiguous that the bureaucrats would always interpret them to satisfy the ones they see as the “Senior Ministers” or “main Ministers” for fear of being persecuted by them.

    13. Secondly, parts of the Schedules of Duties seem to suggest that the Ministers can delegate functions to the Ministers of State. This is a constitutional impossibility. It is only Mr. President that can delegate Presidential powers as one cannot delegate what he does not have (delegatus non potest delegare). In any case, how can someone who took the same Oath of Office with another delegate functions to that other?

    14. Thirdly, the Schedules of Duties leave so many gaping holes that bring conflicts between the Ministers and Ministers of State. In addition, the provision that “Ministers of State” cannot present Memos in Council, except with the permission of the Minister, is another anomaly. It means the discretion of the Minister of State is subsumed in the discretion of the Minister, yet both of them represent different States in Cabinet.

    15. It also follows that it would be difficult to assess the individual performances of the Ministers of State since their discretion is shackled under the discretion of the Ministers. Original ideas developed by a Minister of State are subject to clearance by another colleague in Cabinet before they can sail through for consideration by Council. The drafters of our Constitution obviously did not intend this.

    16. As a result, many Ministers of State are largely redundant, with many going to the office for symbolic purpose and just to while away the time. Files are passed to them to treat only at the discretion of the other Minister and the Permanent Secretary. Yet, the Ministers of State will receive either praise or condemnation for the successes or failures of such Ministries.

    17. I understand that when this practice first surfaced in the First Republic, it was used as a contraption to give a semblance of “Government of National Unity”, when in actual fact no “real power” was ceded to the opposition members co-opted into government who were mostly designated as the Ministers of State, so as to keep them in check under the leadership of the ruling Party’s Ministers. But, over time the custom has come to stay and now it has been established as a norm, even regarding Ministers from the same ruling Party. In fact, one political absurdity that has emerged from this is that some Ministers of State won more votes from their States for the party in power than the “main Minister”.

    THE WAY FORWARD

    18. Many Ministerial Retreats have been held to try and resolve the issues between Ministers and Ministers of State. President Obasanjo held four of such Retreats, with the last one holding at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, from 23rd to 25th February, 2001. Yet, the problems persisted.

    19. Mr. President, unknown to many successive Presidents and the general public, these conflicts gravely affect the optimal performance of Governments. What is the way forward?

    20. Obviously, the argument that two Ministers are cramped into some Ministries in order not to unnecessarily proliferate Ministries and therefore save Government’s money is no longer tenable. This is because Government does not need any extra infrastructure or more money to maintain all Senior 36 Ministers or even a bit more appointed as is now the custom. This is because the present Ministers and Ministers of State have their separate offices, cars, security personnel and personal aides. So, what is the point?

    21. There are enough Permanent Secretaries within the system to be assigned to each Minister, or in the least, one Permanent Secretary can serve two Ministers. Since the Schedules of Duties of both Ministers already reflect the broad Mandates of the Ministries, the Ministers can be named in line with those Schedules of Duties, instead of continuing with this unconstitutional arrangement. For instance, there is no reason why we cannot have a Minister of Labour and another Minister of Employment.

    22. In my case, whilst the Schedule of my colleague had to do more with Labour and Productivity, mine had to do more with Employment. The Directorates in my Ministry that were under my office would then be fully under the Minister of Employment, without any double loyalty to the Minister of Labour and Productivity.

    23. We can also have a Minister of Trade and another Minister of Investment. We can have a Minister of Education (Tertiary) and another Minister of Education (Primary and Secondary); we can have a Minister of Mines and another Minister of Steel; we can have a Minister of Works and another Minister of Housing and so on and so forth.

    24. In all of these, no extra infrastructure is needed to sustain this suggested arrangement. The present infrastructure and present personnel in the Ministries can very well sustain it. It will be at no extra cost to government. This is preferable than successive governments continuing with this present unconstitutional arrangement.

    25. Finally, I want to place it on record again that Mr. Present gave me maximum support as his Minister to function optimally. So, this treatise is not a personal complaint. This is just a respectful recommendation for record purposes and for the sake of posterity. It is also intended to correct an anomaly that has existed for ages.

  • Petrol now massively distributed, to sell at N184 – Sylva

    Petrol now massively distributed, to sell at N184 – Sylva

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, has assured the people of the country that the FG has taken a big step to nip in the bud the ravaging fuel crisis in the country.

    Mr Sylva assures that there will be a massive distribution of the product as from now.

    Mr Sylva made this known after his tour of some selected petroleum dispensing outlets in Lagos on Friday

    He said that he came on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, to assess the situation of things with regard to distribution and adherence to price regulation.

    The minister said that an inter-ministerial intervention, initiated by the government, has set out to ensure proper management of petrol distribution across the country.

    He reassured that with the current steps, all hiccups leading to the current situation was been addressed.

    According to him, the situation is pleasant because he observed availability of products in the state.

    “Fuel is everywhere, both in Lagos and Abuja.

    “I visited many stations in Ikeja and on the mainland. From every indications, there are products everywhere and I want to assure you that the queues will disappear in a matter of days”, he said.

    The minister said the situation, witnessed in Lagos, had been achieved in 15 states across the country, adding that the President had ordered that queues must be cleared, immediately.

    On arbitrary price hike by some marketers, he said that he had directed the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to upscale its regulatory activities and ensure marketers abide by current price regime.

    He said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd., (NNPCL), retail outlets were selling at N184 per liter and over 900 outlets operated by the company were selling at same price.

    “And that is the official price everybody is expected to sell, but l admitted there are sharp practices still ongoing.

    Explaining how the situation degenerated into the crises point, Sylva said that government did not see it coming.

    According to him, sabotage plays a key role in the sector as those who do not mean well for the country take advantage of the upcoming elections, to create panic by engaging in market disruptions.

  • Minister urge public officers not to allow personal interests conflict with responsibilities

    In a two-day workshop organised by the Code of Conduct Bureau for public office holders, the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba,  has urged public officers to ensure their personal interests do not conflict with their responsibilities as they discharge government activities.

    Newsmen reports that the workshop is on strict compliance with assets declaration and code of conduct for public officers.

    Agba, who was represented by Mr Omotayo Adeyemi, Director, Administrations, said it was important for public officers to conform to the highest standards of public morality and accountability.

    He said that putting aside their personal interests would ensure a well-motivated and transparent workforce that will bring about national development.

    He also urged the public officers to ensure that they abided by the code of conducts expected of public officers and ensure that they declared their assets periodically.

    Prof. Mohammed Isah, the Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) also called on the participants to take it as their personal responsibilities to be morally guided in their various endeavours.

    Isah, represented by Mrs Fatima Kere-Ahmed, the Head of Board Secretariat, CCB, said that the bureau decided to educate public officers on what was expected of them so that they would not feign ignorance of the law.

    He also called on the participants to ensure they passed down lessons learnt from the workshop to their subordinates in their various departments.

    “We have 14 Code of Conducts for public officers and the asset declaration is one of the codes.

    “All these codes should be taken seriously as it will help them maintain high level of morality and accountability.

    “The Bureau has been seen as so soft but we want public officers to know that once they are found culpable, we have the power to prosecute them in the court.

    “So abiding by the code of conducts should be taken as an individual responsibility, which is enshrined in the constitution,” Isah said.

  • Nigeria’s policies is to enhance performance of the oil and gas sector- President Buhari

    Nigeria’s policies is to enhance performance of the oil and gas sector- President Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, said Nigeria is embarking on different initiatives, projects, and policies to enhance the performance of the oil and gas sector.

    Addressing the 6th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit in Doha, Qatar, President Buhari, asserted that enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was designed to enable Nigeria to derive more value from natural gas.

    Buhari was represented by Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, according to a statement by Horatius Egua, Senior Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communications.

    The President noted that the recent enactment of the PIA was an indication of the government’s commitment to derive more value from natural gas by providing the required governance, regulatory and fiscal framework to support the industry’s growth.

    He described Nigeria as a gas province with some oil was committed to sustainable growth of natural gas exploitation and utilisation, both for domestic use and export via LNG and pipeline gas to sub-regional African countries.

    According to him, some of the gas initiatives Nigeria is currently embarking upon include the National Gas Expansion Program (NGEP).

    “NGEP is designed to provide framework and policy support to extend gas supply and utilization in power generation, gas-based industries, and in emerging niche gas sectors.

    “Such is gas in transportation, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking and remote virtual gas supply using trucks to convey LNG and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to industries,” he said.

    The other initiatives according to the president are the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano gas pipeline to support five billion cubic feet per day of domestic gas utilization in the near term and five-Gigawatt power generation.

    “The expanding of the current LNG production capacity to about 30 million tons per annum at Bonny with the ongoing N-LNG Train seven project and the declaration of 2021-2030 as the Decade of Gas towards a gas-powered economy.

    “This would not only lower Nigeria’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions but also reduce the country’s import bills.”

    The President noted that with natural gas projected to be the leading fossil fuel in the energy transition, the GECF, given its member countries’ vast experience, was well-positioned to provide a credible platform to promote natural gas as a sustainable fuel for an effective energy transition.

    “We, therefore, need to continue to assess the gas and energy market dynamics both in the short, medium, and long-term time frame with the aim of taking market opportunities and collectively address the challenges,” he noted.

    To achieve the set objectives, he stressed the need to work together as policymakers, investors, decision-makers, researchers, and technology developers to make modern energy sources such as natural gas available and affordable to all.

    While restating Nigeria’s commitment to the Conference of Parties (COP26) Glasgow declaration towards zero carbon emissions, Buhari however underscored the importance of natural gas for an effective energy transition towards a low carbon future.

    He equally emphasized the need for natural gas as a fuel for socio-economic development, taking into consideration its credentials such as abundant, flexible, cleanest fossil fuel, and its versatility.

  • FCTA pledges commitment to job creation, empowering less privileged

    FCTA pledges commitment to job creation, empowering less privileged

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has pledged commitment to job creation and empowering the less privileged in FCT communities.

    The Federal Capital Territory Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, gave the assurance while inaugurating some empowerment programmes in Abaji Area Council, on Thursday.

    Aliyu noted that the All Progressives Congress governance mandate requires the FCT Administration to add FCTA value to the lives of the residents of the territory especially those in rural communities.

    She commended the Chairman of Abaji Area Council for empowering citizens of the council through the provision and distribution of motorcycles to Okada members, provision of speed boats to Kurege, Maniogi and Alu communities.

    The minister also commended the chairman for the purchase of irrigation pumping machines to farmers, and distribution of grinding machines to rural women, amongst other empowerment schemes.

    ”We are making every possible effort to ensure that all citizens are empowered including the less privileged in the society.

    ” To this end, we have also continued to fund free training for artisans and craftsmen towards building their capacity to innovate and ease of doing business.

    Aliyu called on residents of benefiting communities to justify the government’s investment in their communities by ensuring proper maintenance of the projects for the overall development of the areas.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the council, Mr Abdulrahman Ajiya, acknowledged the pragmatic role played by the FCT Minister of State during zero allocation to area councils.

    Ajiya stressed that the minister’s efforts contributed to the provision of the empowerment programmes.

    He said that as part of efforts to curb social vices in the area council, he has empowered about 1,000 youths and women in various skills acquisition.

    The chairman added that the council was able to execute numerous projects with the support of the FCT Administration.

    Newsmen reports that some of the projects inaugurated include the Abaji Police Area Command office, 0.5km market junction road, 0.45km.