President Bola Tinubu has approved a new directive granting ministers of state full authority over the departments and agencies they oversee, eliminating the previous arrangement where these files were routed through senior ministers. According to sources in the office of the head of service of the federation, Tinubu’s decision aims to make ministers of state fully responsible for administrative approvals and governance decisions within their purview.
This shift, reportedly inspired by Hadiza Bala Usman, Tinubu’s special adviser on policy coordination, received immediate support from the president. Tinubu had expressed dissatisfaction with the former system, noting that it reduced the role of ministers of state to a nominal one, thus underutilizing their expertise.
“Ministers of state should have the authority to make decisions and initiate actions in their areas,” said the source, adding that the change is intended to unlock the full potential of each minister.
The cabinet, which includes 48 ministers—16 of whom are junior ministers—has ministers of state in areas like agriculture, defence, health, and finance. Other ministries affected include education, petroleum, trade and investment, labour, and housing.
With this reform, Tinubu’s administration hopes to improve governance efficiency and leverage the talents of all cabinet members.
