Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a renowned lawyer and past president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), stated that President Bola Tinubu was correct to eliminate petrol subsidy, but that he should cut down to 10 or 12 ministries instead.
Agbakoba, who is in favour of eliminating subsidies, declared that he was totally in favour of bringing the economy back to normal. “I do not support the slow pace at which the government is tackling the problem of hardship now,” he said, nevertheless.
“But the consequential follow-up, which is a gap causing the hardship now, hasn’t happened.”
He went on to offer another solution, saying, “We need to pass the Social Security Act as soon as possible. It will use current data to identify people who are eligible to seek palliative care.
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We have the administration; the government claims to have set aside N100 billion for palliative care, but we are unsure of its intended use.
“Where is the money that has accumulated since the elimination of subsidies? To what extent has palliative care been paid for, and where will the funds go?
In an interview with newsmen, the senior lawyer asked further: “What are you doing with 48 ministers? It’s simply too large. You don’t require everything. I suggest no more than 12.
“So many ministries can be merged and others abolished. What is the Ministry of Information doing? All the press secretaries in the Villa cover what the Minister of Information does. Tell me, what does the Minister of Information do daily? Nothing!
“We also do not need Agriculture and Housing ministries. My take is that the government has no house and does not need a Minister of Housing.
“There should be a very clean sweep; you can bring it down from 48 to about 10 to 12 ministers.
“We should abolish that section in the constitution that says every state must produce a minister.
