Between the minister and the senator, By Simbo Olorunfemi

On the list of nominees for the office of Minister that was released last week are some members of the National Assembly, including former Ebonyi State Governor, Senator Dave Umahi, prompting some to query the propriety/wisdom in a Senator giving up his seat to take office as a Minister.

The argument was that he was better off being a Senator than being a Minister, serving at the pleasure of the President. I had also read here that there is really not much to the office of the Minister, anyway, as the Presidential system places power in the hands of the President, with the Ministers only able to act to the extent that the President does allow them.

There is a point to the last bit, but not quite a strong one, so to say. Whereas the Presidential system does confer enormous executive powers on the office of the President, so extensive is the power and so extensive is the machinery of government that it is practically impossible for one man, even as invested with power as the President is, to be able to manage, supervise or superintend.

From the outside, many imagine government/governance as simple or straightforward as management of a Town Union. Some imagine it is such that one person is able to have a full grasp/control of what is going on, hence expecting the President to have his eyes on the crossing of every t and the dotting of every i, as might be expected in every area of governance.

Not many appreciate how extensive, and possibly overwhelming, the governance structure at the Federal level is. You only need to get exposed to just one Ministry or only one Agency of government, especially the revenue-generating ones to begin to understand it.

I remember my first ever visit to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. I couldn’t believe that the entire complex before me housed just the OSGF. Who would have imagined that this entire structure backed the SGF, that some see as just another of the offices at the beck and call of the President, unmindful of the statutory powers in the office and the influence it wields.

You can only imagine the structure upon which some of the Ministries sit, especially when you take into consideration the number/strength of the Parastatals and Agencies under their supervision, thus conferring sizeable influence on the Supervising Ministers. Take the Nigerian Ports Authority, for instance, whose annual revenue is higher than the internally generated revenue of many states combined. Yet, that is only one Agency, out of 8 under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

The Senator might rank higher in the order of protocol, in comparison with the Minister, but that is where it ends. Except for the Presiding officers, there is really no basis of comparison between the extent of power/influence of the Minister and that of a Senator.

While a Senator might have greater control over his time and activities, enjoying more independence, with the Minister answerable to the President, that is more than made up for by the paraphernalia of office, high level of influence which he can mine to oil his structure and keep his base/constituency happy, which is the primary concern of the politician.

The Senator, though of the Federal Republic, is only one of the 109, representing only one-third of the State. It is easier for the Minister to exercise more influence across the entire state, which is the reason why Ministers become party leaders where in States where the Governor belongs to a different party, or end up being at loggerheads with the sitting Governor, when they are of same party.

It is the same reason why Governors pay close attention to not only those they allow to go to the National Assembly, but more attentively to the process that leads to the emergence of Ministers from their States and who emerges as one.

It is only in a rare case, and for other reasons outside of consider here, that would make a politician determined to stay relevant to opt for a seat in the Senate than be a Minister. The fact that Mr Wike opted, at this time, to be a Minister rather than a Senator is an indication of which is a more influential position.