EDITORIAL: Ministerial Restructuring, C'River Leaders And The Need To Change Strategy

Sen. John Owan Enoh, Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment (Industry)

The cabinet restructuring by President Bola Tinubu has been received with mixed reaction in Cross River State, with many questioning how the state moved from having two Ministers to a Minister of State. While some of us have been quick to blame the President for the perceived unfairness, we need to think deeper and introspect to acknowledge our role as a state in circumstances like this. It should be clear to everyone now that internal factors are also contributing to some of these issues.

Since the APC assumed power at the federal level in 2015, Cross River State has consistently opposed its own ministers; none has receive substantial support from the state's political leadership. This persistent infighting defies conventional political wisdom, where leaders typically rally behind their own once a direction has been established. Undoubtedly, interest is key in politics but when there's unity, chances are that collective struggle would produce more results than the constant efforts to undo one another.

It is very unfortunate that Cross River leaders have failed to separate ocal electioneering politics from the strategic relationships needed in Abuja needed to draw benefits to the people. Elections beef is an all season affair and some don't care even if it means the state loosing everything provided they prove a point. Rather than uniting to demand more, they've focused on pushing for the replacement of all the APC-led government appointed ministers from the state. No Minister since 2015 has escaped this. This divisive and vindictive political culture has eroded the state's influence at the federal level, gradually rendering it a national embarrassment.

As discussions surrounding Sen. John Owan Enoh's redeployment as Minister of Sports to Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment (Industry ) continue, it's necessary for our leaders to adjust their strategy and rally behind the President's chosen representative. Rather than trying to pull anybody down, efforts should focus on appealing for the upgrade of the current ministerial position. What some people may not know is that the current Minister has earned the President's confidence therefore, all that's needed now for the state to maximize more benefits from this federal appointment or get it due is unity and support.

Nevertheless, despite reservations about the "Minister of State" title, we need to also note the fact that unlike other Ministers of State, his role was clearly defined from the onset in the Presidential release. Ultimately, responsibilities will be shared between ministers in all the ministries that have two ministers but that the President singled him out to define his role himself is a plus. Rated as a top Minister in the President's first year review, the state may not need much to convince Mr. President to give him more independence or reward the state as APC stronghold by removing the 'state' from his designation.

However, if this recommendation meets the leadership well, it must be done in such a way that it doesn't create any bad blood between Enoh and his colleague, the Minister designate, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole. Besides, it's pertinent to clarify that contrary to some insinuations, Dr. Oduwole  is not a newbie especially as it concerns the sector. She's been part of APC government, holding top roles in the Trade and Investment sector since 2015. 

Between 2015-2019, she served as Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Industry, Trade, and Investment, during which she established the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN). From 2019 to 2023, the academic who holds a Master's degree in International Trade and Development from Stanford Law, served as Special Adviser on Ease of Doing Business/ Executive Secretary of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

This background on her is however not to say that our own Sen. Enoh is not qualified to be the Minister (instead of Minister of State) of the Ministry but to emphasize that the President may have specifically brought her to handle Nigeria's Trade and Investment issues as a technocrat. Therefore, any thoughts of suggesting an exchange between them as some comments on social media seems if our leaders decide to unite for once to hold discussion with President may not work. Rather, we can simply beg the President to create an independent Ministry of Industry after all, it won't require anything special other than just removing "state" from the designation.

This proposal is practicable because the ministry is large and in terms of availability of opportunities to create more impacts in the lives of Cross Riverians, even as a Minister of State, it is way better than the previous portfolio. But, to avoid any sort of bottleneck that may arise from the perception of civil servants who are the brain box of any ministry seeing the Minister of State as a junior minister and to give the state that sense of equity, this may not be too much to ask.

Also, the leadership should kill any idea of asking for another Minister. Even though in an earlier article I had advocated the appointment of another Minister, on hindsight and after critically analysing the situation, it clear that the President is very deliberate and careful not to run a cabinet larger than 48 Ministers. He demonstrated this when he replaced seven Ministers that started with him in 2023 with exactly seven new ones. If he wanted to appoint more Ministers, Wednesday would have been the perfect time to do that.

Besides, given the call for reduction in cost of governance which the President is giving consideration to with some of his recent directives, requesting additional ministerial appointment may not gain any traction. Other than this and other issues discussed earlier, there are strong points to make case for the state. But to achieve that, we must act better. However, if we fail in our bids or refuse to try at all, then we must give the minister all the supports he needs to settle down and get to work.