Tinubu grants full oversight to ministers of state over Key agencies

In a decisive move to streamline governance and improve efficiency within Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC), President Bola Tinubu has granted ministers of state full oversight powers over the agencies they oversee. Previously, these ministers had limited authority, with permanent secretaries forwarding files to senior ministers for approvals.

Under the new directive, which was first reported by The Cable, ministers of state—including Dr. Bello Matawalle for Defence and others in Water Resources and Agriculture—will now have the authority to make all necessary administrative approvals.

This decision empowers them to independently manage the departments and agencies within their portfolios.

The policy shift, reportedly introduced by Hadiza Bala Usman, the president’s special adviser on policy coordination, addresses what Tinubu has seen as a long-standing issue in the government structure.

 According to Henshaw Ogubike, Director, Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Defence in Abuja, Tinubu viewed the previous framework as limiting, with ministers of state “just ministers in name,” which led to the “underutilisation of their expertise and capabilities.”

“President Tinubu believes ministers of state should have the right to make decisions and direct actions within their areas of responsibility,” the official added.

This move is expected to “unleash” the potential of ministers of state, allowing them to play more significant roles in advancing Tinubu’s agenda across key sectors.