This article seeks to make a case for the consolidation of the finance and economic development functions, with the merging of the current Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning with the Ministry of Finance and the creation of a new Ministry of International Cooperation and Regional Integration. During the tenure of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Minister of Finance from 2004 to 2007 and as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy from 2011 to 2015, the Budget Office was directly under her purview. During the first term of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Budget Office was merged with the National Planning Commission to form the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, which created issues with effective coordination. This anomaly was corrected in the second term of President Buhari when both ministries were merged to become the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The ministry was again separated into two when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu became president in May 2023.
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The present situation where the Minister of Finance has no direct control over the budget-making process and where the Budget Office is not directly under his control and does not report to him is anomalous. It is even worse when he, in addition, is saddled with the additional responsibility of being the “Coordinating Minister of the Economy.”
For the avoidance of doubt, I hold no brief for anyone, and I am aware of the far-reaching implications for policy-making and the management of the economy of this proposal, but there is nothing personal about the thoughts and recommendations I am sharing here. Both Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, and Mr Adebayo Olawale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, are eminent economists, senior bankers, and financial experts with glorious public service records prior to appointment as ministers of the federal republic. Both gentlemen could easily switch portfolios and do excellently well.
“It is practically impossible for the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy to effectively function when he does not have direct control over the budget, which is the most potent tool for managing and coordinating the economy on a day-to-day basis.”
So, this is not about them, as such, even as they rank among the most senior and highly respected members of the Tinubu Administration. It is all about the effective management of the Nigerian economy in the 21st century against the background of national economic exigencies. It is practically impossible for the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy to effectively function when he does not have direct control over the budget, which is the most potent tool for managing and coordinating the economy on a day-to-day basis. Besides, a situation where the fiscal agencies or key revenue-generating arms of government are under the Ministry of Finance but the Budget Office, which coordinates and translates all the fiscal policy perspectives of the Federal Government into a workable annual public finance plan, is domiciled in another ministry, does not make for a seamless coordination of national economic planning and financial policy programming.
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Furthermore, the job of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy goes beyond the annual budget or short-term management of the economy to medium- and long-term economic planning and management. Because of the economic firefighting that has gone on for most of the tenure of this present administration, very little attention has been paid to the current “National Development Plan (NDP 2021-2025)” and the prospective plan, “Nigeria Agenda 2050.” Though the prospective plan was approved by the Buhari Administration on March 15, 2023, going through the 243-page document, there is no evidence that the government took ownership of the document and made any political commitment to its implementation. Agreed, it was at the twilight of the previous administration, but a document of that magnitude ought to have been signed off by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation, with an impassioned plea for the incoming administration and future administrations to implement it.
Coming to the proposal for the establishment of a Ministry of International Cooperation and Regional Integration, there is sufficient justification for the establishment of the Ministry. The present Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning has twelve departments, including the International Cooperation Department, and four parastatals, one of which is the Budget Office. International Cooperation has two divisions, the European Union (EU) Unit and the Bilateral Economic Cooperation Division, which between them coordinate and manage expansive programs of international cooperation agreements, development assistance programs, projects, collaborations, and economic and social relations. International cooperation programs are certainly among the activities that give the incumbent Minister of Budget and Economic Planning tremendous visibility and relevance.
In addition, the increasing emphasis on a pan-African approach to the development of Africa means Nigeria has to put heightened priority on our regional integration commitments. Thus, Nigeria’s relations with institutions and programs like the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and our regional economic community, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), should be domiciled within the proposed ministry. This might require inter-ministerial transfer of some departments, but I believe the best place for AfCFTA and ECOWAS relations to be located will be the proposed Ministry of International Cooperation and Regional Integration.
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Nigeria needs a coordinated approach to regional integration, both on a sub-regional and a continental basis. As the leading economy in West Africa and a leading economy in Africa, we have key roles to play in accelerating the pace of regional integration through the instrumentality of ECOWAS and AfCFTA. Creating a new Ministry of International Cooperation and Regional Integration will enable us to more purposefully pursue these vital pan-African development goals to full realisation.
Mr Igbinoba is Team Lead/CEO at ProServe Options Consulting, Lagos
