Cabinet: Ex-Presidential Aide urges FG to decide on who handles ‘innovation’ portfolio
By Emmanuel Olonirhua
Former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has lauded the recent inauguration of the cabinet by President Bola Tinubu, saying the ministers can deliver on their mandates.
Akande, Spokesperson to immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, who said this on Friday, raised concerns on the need to avoid duplication of roles in ministries.
He made his views known, while responding to questions, when he featured on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday.
He, therefore, called on the president to clarify where “innovation” as a portfolio would be based and to further make public articulation of social welfare that was added to the health ministry.
According to him, there has to be clarity in the area of who takes charge of the “innovation” portfolio which has been duplicated between two ministries.
“An important thing we may have to look at is, if you look at the list of the ministries, there are two important questions the Federal Government has to answer.
“ I think the President has to answer this: number one, where is innovation?
“We have the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and we also have the Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, which has to be sorted out.
“Are we going to have a situation where you have innovation here and you have innovation there? Probably this has been sorted out by the two ministers because reason,” he said.
Akande said that why this is important is because in the previous administration two ministries assumed that innovation portfolio was under their purview.
The former spokesperson said that both the Science and Technology Ministry, the people in the Science and Technology and Communication and Digital Economy made such assumption.
“So you find out that there were meetings where both of them were contending tough battles so I think it is important for the president to clarify where is innovation?”
“Secondly, people have even noticed that the President now has two coordinating ministers: (Minister of Finance) and Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Social Welfare.
“So what is social welfare? Is social welfare what we used to have under Social Development which was in humanitarian affairs but no longer there?
“So, that has been changed from Humanitarian Affairs, Social Welfare and Disaster Management to Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, but social welfare is now taken to health. Now, is social welfare the same thing as social development?
“I understand what the president is trying to do by bringing social welfare in line with health is.
“While he is trying to advance the microeconomic issue in the economy may be 4-5 per cent GDP figure in a positive trajectory.
“He also wants to keep an eye on how that impacts the people in real-time, as why he brought the idea of social welfare, which is a very commendable thing.
“But it is important for us to clarify is that socio-welfare the same thing as social development?”
He also spoke on the likelihood of conflicts of interest and possible tension among ministers in the course of carrying out their duties, especially the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, a former commissioner, who has to supervise other ministries with former governors as ministers
“What we must understand is that the Federal Executive Council is the President’s cult; it is what the president wants in terms of the setting and arrangement that would prevail.
“These ministers are appointed at the pleasure and they serve the pleasure of the president.
“He can hire and fire at any time that is the reason you can see he made some changes, which are completely within his purview by law.
“He is the one that sets the KPIs, he is the one decides by law what should be done,” Akande said.
The former presidential aide also spoke on a recent controversy on the appointment of the Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa.
Akande expressed his support for the minister, describing her as a “very bright and innovative person” capable of bringing innovative ideas that would take the ministry to greater heights.
“If we are able to overlook some of these issues, she is clearly a very bright and innovative person… there are clearly a lot of expectations that somebody like her might bring, new thinking to the government.
“She comes with quite a formidable profile for the job, and I think that is something good to know,” Akande said.
His comments came on the heels of accusations from the Human Rights writer’s Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), faulting Musawa, for undertaking the one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme while she is still a member of President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet. (www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola
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