The ability of the incoming administration to deliver on its #Change agenda will depend, in part, on the candidates selected as chief executives for the various ministries, departments and agencies. This document outlines an effective process for selecting top talents for ministerial positions. The process ensures competence, reduces “godfatherism”, ensures transparency, reduces opportunities for lobbying, and provides the opportunity for Nigerians to track the progress of the ministerial appointees towards achieving the goals for the various ministries. It is a significant departure from the current process and is likely to be met with resistance from the political class; yet, it is an opportunity for the Buhari-Osinbajo administration to signal to Nigerians (and the world) that it is committed to the #Change agenda.
Issue statement
What is the most effective process to ensure the best candidates are selected as chief executives for the federal ministries?
Current selection process
The current process for selecting chief executives for federal ministries is imbued with significant challenges that predispose successive governments to sub-optimal performance. The process is opaque, breeds lobbying and manipulation, and typically generates unsuitable candidates who are ill-prepared and lack the competence to deliver results from Day One.
The current selection process is as follows:
(a) The states nominate ministerial candidates.
The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) invites the state governments to nominate candidates for ministerial positions. The states consult amongst the political elite and submit names to the presidency. Typically, selection is based more on political capital and access than on technical competence.
Issues
The selection criteria presented by the FGN to the state governments are not focused or detailed enough to ensure rigorous selection and presentation of the best candidates.
The FGN does not specify the ministerial portfolio assigned to each state; therefore, candidates are not nominated because of their proven expertise in any particular sector.
(b) A presidential selection committee interviews the nominated candidates.
The president constitutes a team of trusted aides and party stalwarts to interview the ministerial nominees.
Issues
Typically, there is no transparency on the members of the selection committee, their terms of reference, or selection methodology.
The opacity of the process creates room for political lobbying and abuse of the process.
(c) The presidency assigns ministerial portfolios to the candidates.
The committee submits the list of selected candidates to the president. Political lobbying from various constituencies continues until the president decides on the names to send to the Nigeria Senate for approval. At this point, ministerial portfolios are assigned to each of the nominees. The decision on portfolio assignment is mainly driven by political (rather than technical) considerations.
Issues
In most cases, Nigeria ends up with square pegs in round holes. These are candidates who may have subject matter expertise in a particular area but are assigned portfolios where they know little or nothing. Such candidates spend the early months of their appointment learning about the sector instead of delivering results. This is not the most effective strategy for a nation striving for social, political and economic development.
The chief executive of a public sector institution, like the private sector contemporary, should have the requisite technical skills and experience coupled with political prowess. Yet, the current selection process results in CEOs with more political aptitude and insufficient technical competence because the selection process is based mostly on political horse-trading between the party stalwarts and the political elite.
(d) The Nigeria Senate conducts the confirmation process.
As provided in the Constitution, the presidency sends its list of shortlisted candidates to the National Assembly (Senate) for confirmation.
Issues
Although the Senate ministerial confirmation process is a public event, sometimes it does not deliver the rigorous scrutiny required to select top candidates. In some cases, candidates with the right political leverage are asked to “take a bow”.
The political leadership of the Nigeria Senate, in some instances, approves a ministerial candidate despite public outcry. A recent example is ministerial confirmation of Musiliu Obanikoro despite allegations of his involvement in election malpractices.
The voice-votes (ayes and nays) at ministerial confirmation provide a cover for the senators and eliminate the opportunity for individual consequence for poor judgment on the candidates.
The proposal
The incoming administration is invited to implement a ministerial selection process that resolves the critical challenges with the current process and delivers the right candidates for the various positions. Below is an outline of a transparent selection process that ensures the identification and selection of the best candidates for the right positions.
Assign specific ministerial positions to the states
The incoming administration should allocate ministerial positions to the states prior to requesting for ministerial nominees. The allocation process will be by luck of the draw and conducted live on television. This process will signal to Nigerians that the incoming administration does not have any covert or overt sectional or ethnic agenda in the allocation of political positions.
Provide specific job descriptions for the assigned ministerial positions
Each state will receive a specific job description for the allocated ministerial positions. The job description will specify the requisite academic qualifications, professional accomplishments, managerial experience, terms of reference for the job, etc. The states will be requested to use the job description criteria to select their best candidates for the assigned ministerial position. The FGN will reject any nominee who does not meet any of the selection criteria.
There is a potential risk that the political class will oppose this proposed process and argue that ministers should be individuals with “electoral value”. The government should resist this opposition by communicating to Nigerians that the role of a minister is similar to that of a chief executive officer of a Fortune 500 company. As such, the ideal candidate must have the requisite technical capabilities to run an enterprise. As a compromise, FGN should create other channels of patronage for the political elite; however, these channels should be in areas that would not impact the administration’s ability to deliver on the #Change agenda.
Patrick O. Okigbo III
