His. Excellency Alh Usman Ahmed Ododo has demonstrated the capacity of an inclusive government since he was sworn in as the 5th executive governor of Kogi state.
Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, as one of his strategy to transform Kogi state, has appointed over 1,102 political officials as cabinet members. The appointment compresses of 165 Senior special assistants, 290 local government special assistants, 36 special assistants and 574 ward special assistants.
The appointment of over 1,102 members has left some questions in the mind of people thinking if this is an appointment or empowerment.
I want to first of all congratulate all the old and new appointees under the government of His Excellency Governor Usman Ododo Ahmed.
These appointments was to strengthen and deepen democracy and ensure participatory governance among the grassroots population and to foster the relationship between the government and the people at the grassroots level.
To all the appointees, your appointment to this crucial role reflects the trust and confidence that the Governor has placed on you all to oversee the activities at ward, local government and state levels. As Special Assistant to the governor, your vision and leadership should undoubtedly play a pivotal role in enhancing the ward, local and state image.
The size of a cabinet plays a pivotal role in shaping the functioning of a government.
The appointment of over one thousand cabinet members does not guarantee a good governance neither does it guarantee failure as some of us has claimed. Such numbers of appointment has it pros and cons which is as follows:
1. Better representation: A large cabinet members allows for more diverse representation of various constituencies, demographics, and interests within the government, potentially leading to more inclusive decision-making.
2. Specialization: With a larger cabinet members, it’s possible to appoint an individual with specialised expertise in specific areas, which can lead to more informed and effective policy making.
3. Workload distribution: More cabinet members can help distribute the workload, allowing for more focused attention on different policy areas and reducing the burden on individuals.
4. Enhanced decision making: A larger pool of cabinet members can bring diverse perspectives to discussions and debates, leading to more robust decision-making processes.
5. Sources of information: Such large number of cabinet members will enable the government to primarily gather a first hand information from the people at grassroot.
6. Political stability: The additional cabinet members will provides a broader range of political factions or parties in the Cabinet who can promote stability by reducing the likelihood of dissent and increasing the likelihood of coalition support.
7. Foster relationship: A large number of appointees draw the government closer to the people at grass root and to maintain good relationships.
Cons of too many appointments:
1. Cost: A large cabinet members means more officials salaries, administrative expenses, and potentially increased bureaucracy, which can strain government budgets and resources.
2. Coordination challenges: With more cabinet members, coordination and communication among various departments can become more complex, potentially leading to inefficiencies and conflicts.
3. Decision-making delays: More voices in the cabinet can lead to longer decision making processes as consensus building becomes more challenging.
4. Risk of inefficiency: A larger cabinet may lead to overlaps in responsibilities and jurisdictional disputes between appointees, resulting in inefficiencies and confusion in governance.
5. Conflict of interest: When there are too many political officials it may hinder development as officials prioritise their interests over others and over the interest of the people which can generate hatred and back biting among the appointees.
6. Difficulty in accountability: With a larger Cabinet, it can be more challenging to hold individual member accountable for their actions or decisions, as the focus may become diluted among the many members.
If the duty of those officials are well defined and they are ready to discharge it as expect then the state will feel their positive impact but in the absence of that it will end up being a waste of resources leading to bad governance.
As an appointee you required to perform your duties in the public interest not on your family or personal interest.
The financial implication of the appointment is that the state will spend over N86 million monthly for payment of the Ward Special Assistants and over a N100 million for Local Government Special Assistants. When annualised, the state government would require over N2.5 billion to pay the salaries of these appointees both the new and the old appointees.
When there are too many political officials at the ward, local and state level it may lead to conflict of interest if they are not properly manage and monitored. We are living in a society where even a former councillorship aspirant that couldn’t afford money to buy a ticket will be parading himself as honorable.
My candid suggestion and advice for His. Excellency Alh. Usman Ododo is to ensure he establish an effective monitoring team that look into the activities of all the cabinet members including the commissioners to ensure that they are functioning are performing their duty as expected, and to sanction a non performing appointee so that those appointment will not end up looking like His Excellency Alh. Usman Ododo Ahmed issued the appointment as an empowerment or compensation for their support during the 2023 governorship election, this should be strictly a call to serve.
In conclusion, His. Excellency Governor Usman Ododo Ahmed should, at least, at the end of every year gather his cabinets members for accountability so that he will not be long blind folded by his cabinet members like what has happened in the past.
– Ahmed Abdulmumuni
Activist
ahmedabdulmumuni100a@gmail.com
