ANALYSIS: How Buhari’s ministers performed in first year (Final Part)

In this final part of the series, Festus Owete and Tunde Eludini review the performance of the heads of seven ministries after one year in office. Their promises were compared with their achievements and their failures highlighted.

18) Ministry: Sports

Minister: Solomon Dalung

Promises

-Get rid of corruption in sports sector.

-Restructure sports architecture of the country and ensure that it is compatible with passion of Nigerians by concentrating on investing grants on talents or grassroots sports development while the elite sports will be left for the federations and professionals

-Address the issue of lack of facilities and equipment, He described them as the bane of sports development in Nigeria

-Revive the National Sports Commission, NSC, to play a pivotal role in the new sports architecture being proposed to move the sector forward

-Restore school sports as a compulsory component of the school curriculum

-Ensure the ministry remains committed to reviving sporting activities in the military

Achievements

-Nigeria won a bronze medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics

-Set up a committee to do a thorough audit of sports facilities and equipment in the country.

-Resuscitated moribund facilities such as the Swimming Pool at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, which had been abandoned for 20 year

-Timely intervention to save the day for Nigeria in Senegal as the country finally returned to Olympic football action after missing at the London Olympics

-The National U-23 team, Dream Team VI coached by Samson Siasia won the 2015 Africa U-23 Championship in Senegal

– Nigeria’s Paralympics team had their best performance ever in Rio

Failures

-Controversial scrapping of the National Sports Commission, though reports suggest it may soon be back

-Ministry unable to account for N2.9 billion released by government for participation at the 2015 All Africa Games in Congo and preparations for the 2016 Rio Olympics

-Nigeria failed to qualify for 2017 AFCON

-Created confusion in the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) by needlessly reawakening the rivalry between contenders for its leadership

Score: Below Average

19) Ministry: Justice

Minister: Abubakar Malami

Promises

-To re-invigorate the implementation of the existing laws as may be necessary to make them suitable to tackle current security challenges without violating the fundamental human rights of any individual

-To lay a solid foundation for sustainable reform of the judicial sector where rule of law takes pre-eminence over and above rule of man

-To reinvigorate the ministry and the other anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and the Nigeria Police Force

-To strengthen international bonds with Nigeria’s partners

-To ensure the implementation of the FoI Act

-To ensure the amendment of the Electoral Act and other laws in order to empower INEC and similar bodies to deal with perpetrators of serious offences

Achievements

-The arraignment of the nation’s number three citizen, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for alleged falsification of asset declaration

-Mr. Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu were also arraigned for alleged forgery of the Senate Rules that brought them to office. Mr. Malami said he did it in defence of the rule of law, justice and based on public interest. The case was later withdrawn though

-The arrest and detention by the SSS of seven judges across the country for alleged corrupt practices. It was the first time in the country such arrest would be made. The judges have since been suspended by the NJC

-Rejuvenation of the EFCC to fight corruption

-The Ministry barred the police from prosecuting criminal cases. To this end, it took over about 8000 case files so far from police for prosecution. The decision is part of measures to reform the justice sector

-Inaugurated an Expert Review Committee on implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, UNCAC

-Set up a Committee headed by former Senate President, Ken Nnamani to undertake constitutional and electoral reform

-Took Nigerian into the Open Government Partnership (OGP), which would help to fight corruption

Failure

-No conviction has been secured in any of the major corruption cases

-Incessant disobedience of court orders, especially those granting bail to some Nigerians facing corruption charges

-Disrespect for the ECOWAS Court ruling despite Nigeria being a signatory to the sub-regional body’s treaty

-Looted funds still trapped abroad. The AGF says “It is impossible to give a clear figure of the total amount stashed abroad against the background of complexity, differences of rules, approach and processes, at international communities. A group, Africa Secretariat says over £400bn worth of Nigerian money is stashed away in Europe, Asia and America”

– Engaged in needless power tussle with the head of EFCC and the Vice President

– Poorly handled the trial and subsequent withdrawal of charges against the Senate President

– Poor management of information on major high profile investigations and expected trials including that of OPL 245 popularly called Malabu

Score: Below Average

20) Ministry: Foreign Affairs

Minister: Geoffrey Onyeama

State Minister: Khadjat Bukar Ibrahim

Promises

-To reform and rationalize Nigeria’s foreign embassies and consulates

-To Improve global business relations for Nigerians.

-Cooperation with neighbouring states and the African Union to fight terrorism in Nigeria

-Support the implementation of relevant international instruments on anti-corruption and illicit funds transfers across international borders, especially within the framework of the ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations

-To make Nigeria’s foreign policy thrust focus on security, governance (anti-corruption) and the economy

Achievements:

-Secured the release of Nigerians detained in Turkey. The Nigerians, mainly students, were alleged to be connected with the failed coup in the country in July

-First Nigerian foreign affairs minister to be on digital communications and social media platforms. The minister is active on Twitter

-Excellent relations with neighbouring countries, which helped to combat and degrade terrorism in Nigeria

Failures

-Delay for over one a year in appointing non-career ambassadors to replace those the government recalled in July 2015

-Failure to react to killing of Nigerians in other parts of the world

-Looted Nigeria’s fund still trapped in foreign banks despite assurances they would be repatriated

-Most of the 119 Nigerian missions and embassies abroad are broke and cannot meet their obligations. They are faced with problems such as the inability to pay their workers, delays in the issuance of visas and passports, lack of funding for day-to-day operations, and inability to pay the rent of embassies and workers’ residences

Score: Below Average

21) Water Resources

Minister: Suleiman Adamu

Promises

-To ensure that all Nigerians have access to potable water by 2030 through urban water sector reform programme

-To do household survey on access to water supply and sanitation and create a national database on water supply and sanitation facilities

-To eradicate open defecation in Nigeria by 2025

-To revitalise existing irrigation projects across the country

-To work on the moribund draft National Water Bill, National Water Policy and the National Irrigation Policy in order to have stable and attractive environment for investors and development partners in the sector

-To reform the 12 river basin development authorities by partly commercializing them

Achievements

-Commenced the auditing of all the ongoing water projects in the country

-Launched the Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH) which will cost about N510 billion

-Completed Galma multipurpose dam in Soba LGA of Kaduna State, which is also capable of providing job opportunities for over 1.1 million people living within its environs. The building of the dam started in 2006. The minister said no water project had been completed in the last 15 years

– Inaugurated a N5.9 billion water supply project which will supply water to Otuoke, the hometown of former President Goodluck Jonathan and 12 other communities in Bayelsa State

-Trained hygiene education teachers, youth corps members and other stakeholders in the six area councils of the FCT on hygiene promotion

Failures

– Over 50 million Nigerians do not have access to safe water. The minister said as of 2015 the National Water Supply was 69 per cent. But a group, Oxfam Nigeria says 63 million Nigerians lack access to safe water and sanitation, while about 112 million people are without access to improved sanitation despite the progress made in meeting the MDG

-Although Nigeria has about 3.12 million hectares of potential irrigable land, less than 10 per cent has been fully developed and being utilised

-The 12 river basin development authorities (RBDAs) are still in bad shape and have failed to ensure food sufficiency in Nigeria

Score: Average

22) Ministry: Interior

Minister: Abdulrahman Dambazzau

Promises

-To reform the Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigeria Prisons Service, Fire Service and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps

-The resuscitation and transformation of the Criminal Justice System in Nigeria.

-Decongest the Nigerian prisons

-To improve the knowledge base of all staff in the ministry

Achievements

-Secured the approval of N3.5 billion to procure 320 Made-in-Nigeria vehicles to aid prisons decongestions across the country as part of the plan to strengthen the criminal justice system

-Commissioned 28 additional centres for the production of Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Alien Card aimed at automating the operations of the Nigeria Immigration Service for the issuance of residence permits to expatriates residing and working in Nigeria

-Signed a MoU with UK on Immigrants Return to ensure proper profiling of the nationalities or migrants through the use of biometric and biographic data

-Set up a 16-member committee to work out measures to end famers and herdsmen conflict across the country

-Deployed 3,000 NSCDC personnel to monitor mining sites nationwide to curb illegal mining operations

Failures

-Awaiting trials continue to plague the judicial system. Prisons authorities say about 75 per cent of an estimated 65,000 inmates are awaiting trial

-Jailbreaks in Kuje, Koton-Karfe and Nsukka prisons. Also attempted jail break at Abakaliki Prisons during which about 15 inmates and one prison officer reportedly died

-The Federal Fire Service established in 1901 still operates with obsolete equipment and the equally outdated Fire Service Act of 1963

-Endless scarcity of international passport booklets causing Nigerians who want to renew their passports to be stranded

-Refusal to employ families of dead victims and other injured persons of the 2014 immigration recruitment stampede despite promises

-More illegal immigrants are finding their way to Nigeria. For instance, 500 migrants were recently arrested by the NIS in Niger, of whom 300 were declared illegal immigrants and awaiting deportation. In May, 45 illegal immigrants were arrested

Score: Average

23) Women Affairs and Social Development

Minister: Aisha Al-hassan

Promises

-To ensure that the plight of women, children and the vulnerable is alleviated by implementing the Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act

-Eliminate gender-based violence

-Pursue vigorously the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls

Achievements

-Created a 24/7 Desk in the ministry to deal with the Chibok schoolgirls issues and the subsequent release of 21 of the girls

-The release of N150 billion for women entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. Out of the fund, N1.6 billion was earmarked for microfinance scheme for women

-Secured the N2.1 billion aimed at promoting women’s engagement in peace and security in the Northern states to ensure successful implementation

-Signed an MOU with The Gambia on Sustainable Development Goals aimed at promoting trade, investment and best practice with women, the aged and people living with disabilities as beneficiaries

-Under the Growing Girls and Women Initiative and Gender Responsive Budget Schemes, over 3,000 young women farmers were trained and given farm equipment, while over 2 million women were registered on the E-wallet agro database for receiving subsidized agro-inputs

-Also, 3,000 repair surgeries for VVF victims were carried out

-About 520 women and girls were trained in water management schemes and kiosk operations and 1400 out-of-school young peer educators were trained in ICT

Failures

-Violence against Women (including sexual assault, domestic, rape and family violence) on the rise. Nigeria ranks 76th out of 86 countries where violence against women is rampant

-Gender disparity in income as women in Nigeria still earn lower from their jobs than their male counterparts

-Practice of female genital mutilation, especially in the south, still persists despite campaign against it

-Early girl marriage still persists in some parts of the north despite campaign against it

-Female illiteracy, as priority continues to be given to male education

Score: Average

24) Niger Delta

Minister: Usani Uguru

State Minister: Claudius Daramola

Promises

-To address problems created by lack of even development in the oil rich region

-Complete all on-going projects in the region

-Complete the dualisation of the East-West road which commenced in 2006 but was taken over by the ministry in 2010

-To hold town hall meetings in communities of the Niger Delta region

Achievements

-Acquired 270 hectares of land in each of the states for the creation of industrial parks

-In conjunction with BOA, the ministry disbursed loans to 130 youth for agriculture in the Niger Delta region. The beneficiaries had been trained in Israel in various agricultural enterprises, ranging from aquaculture, feed formation, poultry, rabbitry, snailry and food processing

-Over 200 youth from the region benefited from mobile phone assemblage in Calabar

-Provision of infrastructure such as the construction of roads, water supply in many communities

-Built a cassava processing plant in Ondo that has the capacity to produce 1.2 tons of high quality garri, 1 ton of odourless fufu, 0.75 ton of composite flour for the bakery industry and 0.5 ton of high cassava starch per day

Failures:

-The East-West road, 338 Km dual carriageway traversing towns in Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Delta States remains uncompleted. The road is strategic to the development of the region

-Youth restiveness and insecurity still reign in the region

Score: Average