The President Tinubu administration appears determined to change the face of political activities in the country, judging from recent announcements from the presidency. The President just approved the immediate dissolution of the governing boards of all federal government parastatals, agencies, institutions, and government-owned companies. This was contained in a statement issued on Monday, 19 June 2023, by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume. But the dissolution did not affect boards, commissions and councils listed in the Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 153 (i) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
In view of this development and until such a time new boards are constituted, the statement said, Chief Executive Officers of the affected parastatals, agencies, institutions, and government-owned companies were directed to refer matters requiring the attention of their boards to the President, through the Permanent Secretaries of their respective supervisory ministries and offices. Permanent Secretaries were directed to route such correspondences to Mr President through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Consequently, all ministries, departments and agencies are to ensure compliance to the provision of this directive which took effect from Friday 16 June, 2023. Permanent Secretaries were particularly directed to inform the Chief Executive Officers of the affected agencies under the supervision of their respective ministries or offices for immediate compliance.
The offices involved were:
- Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria
- Social security Management of Nigeria
- Budget Office of the Federation
- Bureau of Public Enterprises
- Bureau of Public Procurement
- Central Bank of Nigeria
- Corporate Affairs Commission
- Debt Management Office
- Federal Inland Revenue Service
- Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria
- Fiscal Responsibility Commission
- Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission
- National Bureau of Statistics
- National Council on Privatization
- National Insurance Commission
- National Pension Commission
- National Planning Commission
- National Sugar Development Commission
- Niger Delta Development Commission
- Nigeria Customs Service
- Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company
- Nigeria Investment Promotions Commission
- Nigerian Export-Import Bank
- Nigerian Export Promotion Council
- Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority
- Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- Standards Organization of Nigeria
- Small and medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria
- National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies
- Nigeria Gas Company
- Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board
- National Examination Council
- National Open University of Nigeria
- National Teachers Institute
- National Universities Commission
- Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria
- National Business and Technical Examinations Board
- Universal Basic Education Commission
- West African Examinations Council
- National Commission for Colleges of Education
- National Library of Nigeria
- Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission
- Electricity Management Services Limited
- Energy Commission of Nigeria
- National Power Training Institute of Nigeria
- Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission
- Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board
- Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited
- Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority
- Power Holding Company of Nigeria
- Rural Electrification Agency
- Transmission Company of Nigeria
- Federal Environmental Protection Agency
- Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria
- National Biosafety Management Agency
- National Environmental Standards and Regulatory Enforcement Agency
- National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency
- Environmental Health Officers registration Council of Nigeria
- National Health Insurance Scheme
- National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and development
- National Agency for the Control of AIDS
- National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control
- National Primary Health Care Development Agency
- Nigerian Institute of Medical Research
- Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
- National Drug Law Enforcement Agency
- Defence Intelligence Agency
- State Security Service
- National Intelligence Agency
- Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit
- National Judicial Institute
- Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency
- Nigerian Ports Authority
- Nigerian Shippers’ Council
- Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria
- News Agency of Nigeria
- Nigeria Press Council
- Nigeria Television Authority
- National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure
- National Biotechnology Development Agency
- National Centre for Remote Sensing
- Sheda Science and Technology Complex
- National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion
- National Space Research and Development Agency
- Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority
- Raw Materials Research and Development Council
- Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited
- National Centre for Technology Management
- Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency
- Nigerian Integrated Water Resources Commission
- National Water Resources Institute
- River Basin Development Authority
- Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization
- National Automotive Design and Development Council
- Federal Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria
- Consumer Protection Council
- Economic and financial Crimes Commission
- Federal Housing Authority
- Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission
- Industrial Training Fund
- Legal Aid Council of Nigeria
- National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons
- National Boundary Commission
- National Council of Arts and Culture
- National Economic Reconstruction Fund
- National emergency Management Agency
- National Hajj Commission of Nigeria
- National Human Rights Commission
- National Identity Management Commission
- National Institute for Hospitality Tourism
- National Lottery Regulatory Commission
- National Orientation Agency
- National Poverty Eradication Programme
- National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission
- National Sports Commission
- Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
- Nigeria Immigration Service
- Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute
- Nigeria Institute of Building
- Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission
- Nigerian Copyright Commission
- Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation
- Public Complaints Commission
- Surveyors Council of Nigeria
- National Lottery Trust Fund
- National Information Agency
- Nigerian Broadcasting Commission
- Nigerian Communications Commission
- Nigerian Postal Services
- National Frequency Management Council
- Galaxy Backbone
- Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria
- Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority
- Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau
- Nigeria Meteorological Agency
- Nigerian College of Aviation Technology
- Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria
- National Agricultural Extension, Research and Liaison Services
- National Veterinary Research Institute
- Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation
- Nation root Crops Research Institute
- Agricultural research Council of Nigeria
- Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Maritime Research
- Nigerian Institute for Palm Oil Research
- Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Services
- National Horticultural Research Institute
The government establishments exempted from this exercise were:
- The Code of Conduct Bureau
- Nigerian Council of States
- Federal Character Commission
- Federal Civil Service Commission
- Federal Judicial Service Commission
- Independent National Electoral Commission
- National Defence Council
- National Economic Council
- National Judicial Council
- National Population Commission
- National Security Council
- Nigeria Police Council
- Police Service Commission and
- Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission
No one knows for sure what President Tinubu has in mind, but it is most likely that he would choose brand news hands to manage these government establishments. It appears that he believes that the old hands must give way to new ones. But no one is sure. While the Supreme Court is still sorting out the knotty cases the Peoples’ Democratic Party and the Labour Party made against the electoral process that brought Mr. Tinubu to the country’s leadership, Nigerians can only fold their hands and wait with expectation, the final verdict on who actually won the controversial 25 February 2023 presidential election. But while Tinubu is at it, ROLU magazine hopes he is able to bring into his government capable men of integrity, tested and tried men who would not only quickly deliver the dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of every Nigerian home, but more importantly, save Nigerians more uncertain days of penury and want. Nigerians would certainly be delighted to see that the days of government of ‘business as usual’ are over.
