New ministers were yesterday drilled by the Head of Service, Steven Oronsanye, who led them through the various processes of governance, including the basic laws of public procurements, due process and the rule of law.

He warned them against violating laid down procedures in order to avoid the acting president’s sanctions. Mr Oronsanye also urged them to work together to end the perception that ministers and their ministers of state love a quarrel.

He spoke at the meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation - the 14th held this year - which was presided over by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan. This first meeting of the new council started at 10.15 and ran for over four hours and Mr Oronsanye was invited to speak during the briefings.

The head of service said the orientation exercise was necessary to prepare the ministers for the task ahead, and to ensure that they know what is needed in the discharge of their ministerial responsibilities.

“What we did today was simply to bring the rules and regulations on the table. There are sanctions already prescribed for those who do not comply with the rules and regulations and it is not just for ministers, but also for permanent secretaries, for civil servants and for all of us,” he said.

Geopolitical allocations

On the allocation of the same ministerial portfolios to ministers from the same zone,

Mr Oronsanye said the practice does not violate any convention or procedure.

“There is nothing in writing which says that because we are from the same zone or state we cannot man the same ministry, but as much as practically possible, we try not to put people from the same zone or state together,” he said. “But, the time has come when we should also have confidence in ourselves, when we believe that we are from the same state, we should be able to live above board.

What is important is to have the courage to do what is right: that is, if somebody has erred, for you to make a formal report instead of covering and where you do not make a formal report then such wrong will remain covered.”

Power struggles

Dora Akunyili who heads the ministry of information said the issue of power struggle between ministers was exhaustively addressed. “The relationship between ministers and ministers of state came up during the discussion because it is a very important factor in ensuring that we work amicably to ensure that we deliver the dividends of democracy to the good people of this country but I want us to remember that this problem actually depends on individuals.

“They are not created, per se, by the job; they are created by the individual and, as such, when the individuals decide to work with one another as a family, knowing that you are working for the same people, the same government, the same country, friction shouldn’t really arise. So we believe that this time around, those differences that were noticed would be sorted out since we have started the discussions today. In the future we are going to come up with more details.”

Mrs. Akunyili pleaded with the press to support her and her new counterpart, Labaran Maku, a journalist and former deputy governor of Nasarawa State, who is now the minister of state for information.


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