So, the jury is finally out on members of GEJ's cabinet. ThisDay has taken time to do an assessment of all cabinet ministers based on performance and impact. Some performed poorly like the education ministers-( Ruquayat, Wike), Interior(abba Morro), Police (olubolade) etc, while some did well- above average like the trade ministers( Aganga and Ortom) Agric(Adesina), Finance(NOI), Petroleum- u won't believe it( Diezini), Works(Onolememen), etc.

Here is the full assessment:

PROLOGUE
As Hope Flickers in the Distance...

By Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

There would always be cynics on the standby to scoff. Whatever the government flaunts as its achievements, it would never so easily notch a high approval rating. The spotlight, meanwhile, gropes frantically for good governance. And good governance implies – or must transmute to – a better life for the people.  For of what use is the announcement of an increased budgetary allocation to the education sector – to the tune of N426.53 billion, going by the latest official figures – when the rot in the sector remains glaring? Most road users still groan about the deplorable conditions of the federal highways.
The spectre of insecurity haunts and taunts the distraught populace. Healthcare has continued to fall short of the people’s expectations. Then, the power sector is still far from being what it should be.  Yet... even as the masses groan under the scourge of mistrust – the mistrust of the government – hope flickers in the distance, somewhere at the end of the dark tunnels of their minds... True: the value system has turned belly up and brazen corruption remains a hydra-headed monster, which stalks the system. But the presence of technocrats in the President Goodluck Jonathan cabinet sometimes shifts the focus away from the bleak prospects. Beneath the veil of the official Transformation Agenda sloganeering, there are indeed moments of reprieve in this administration’s apparent incoherence. Among these moments are the aviation sector’s laudable projects, which include the remodelling of the nation’s airports and the total radar coverage of the nation’s airspace. Rail transportation is being gradually revived from its decades-long coma. The talk of less dependence on crude oil-based exports is beginning to look achievable. The agricultural sector might achieve more than sufficiency in food supply and buoy the nation’s hopes of promoting non-oil exports. Indeed, despite the cant and rant of the opposition parties – and perhaps the occasional shaking of the head at the depravity of the system by some informed few – nothing suggests that Nigerians have given up hope on a better future for their country. Formal and informal business activities are still showing signs of life. These pheromone-driven activities have kept the mills of the economy turning. Bull runs seem to have returned to the stock market... These fairytale-like feats also affirm the resilience of the average Nigerian even under the most inhospitable conditions. Of particular interest in this regard is the culture sector, which ironically is ensconced among the least-favoured federal ministries. Besides the legendary success of the local home-video industry, spectacular achievements have been recorded by visual artists, writers and musicians. Hats off, therefore, to the creative industry that President Jonathan has deemed it worthy of grants worth billions of naira! Even with low budget, the culture ministry and its parastatals have admirably managed to plod on. On the festering problem of insecurity, many Nigerians would readily accuse the current administration of ineptitude. Could President Jonathan have underestimated how much things have degenerated when he took the oath two years ago to serve the nation? Apparently, it might take a while for Nigeria to be released from the vice-like grip of this monster. Nevertheless, even with some obvious gaffes the current administration deserves the thumbs up for some of its achievements. Perhaps, were it not for the grievous sins of the past, its efforts would have impacted more on the lives of the citizenry.
As the countdown to May 29 second anniversary of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration continues, our Correspondents covering the various ministries went round assessing the projects executed by and the programmes/policies being pursued by the various ministries in the last one year against the backdrop of the promises/pledges made by the various ministers. Below is the scorecard of the ministers…

  Minister of Aviation
From Airport Remodelling, Oduah Targets the
Aerotropolis

For almost 30 years, virtually all the nation’s airports had been stagnant without any major uplift until Ms. Stella Oduah emerged Aviation Minister in 2011. And less than one year after, she started and completed the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) in Lagos from the rubbles of the obsolete structure that had existed there for years. Since then five remodelled terminals have been unveiled in Lagos, Abuja, Benin, Enugu and Kano. Transformation work is also going on at the international terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and other airports in the country.
Beyond airport remodelling, the minister has encouraged the growth of domestic airlines by removing import duties on aircraft importation and spares for scheduled operators. The airlines would also be assisted by the planned intervention fund, which will enable them to acquire new aircraft and boost their operation. The minister is also developing cargo terminals at the strategic agriculture potential states for the exportation of perishable and non-perishable cargo. But her larger vision remains the Aerotropolis, through which she intends to develop a commercial hub modelled around the nation’s major international airport.
Minister Oduah is known to be energetic and carries on with unprecedented zeal in the sector. But issues are being raised about the funding of the airport remodelling, many of which are of dubious quality. The minister is also accused of infiltrating the aviation agencies with non-professionals and sitting on the promotion of medium and high level officers who have spent many years in these agencies. Also, aviation analysts are watching the handling of the altercation between the Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and some of the aviation agencies over the state government’s aircraft to see if its aviation rules that is guiding the agencies’ action and not 2015 politics.
THISDAY Assessment – Good performance

  Minister of Defence (de facto Minister of Defence)
Obada: Performing
Creditably in a Job for Men
Mrs. Olusola Obada has been a stabilising force since assuming office as Minister of State for Defence. Obada performed her role in that capacity creditably well as the supervisory minister of Navy overseeing the arrival of NNS THUNDER as well supporting the then Minister of Defence, Dr. Mohammed Haliru Bello, before he was sacked last year. Bello’s sack has been like a blessing in disguise for Obada who has been able to bring her experience as former deputy governor in Osun State to bear on her expanded responsibility as both the acting Minister of Defence and Minister of State for Defence for almost a year now. Her leadership has witnessed a rapid re-organisation and modernisation of the Nigerian Armed Forces to meet the contemporary challenges like terrorism, insurgency, piracy and oil bunkering. Under Obada, the military has seen the development of a harmonised Defence Policy in line with the current realities, and the admission of female cadets into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) for combat training. Also, the military has witnessed the promotion of first female general in the person of Rear Admiral Itunu Honotu and first female military pilot Flying Officer Blessing Liman.
But the ongoing fight against insurgency is far from being won and this remains a challenge for the military. There have also been serious challenges including limited financial resources for purchase of military equipment and overstretching of the military, as troops are now engaged in both internal and external security operations. Another serious challenge is the rise in crude oil theft, pipeline vandalisation and other criminal activities in the Niger-Delta. One of Obada’s seeming weaknesses is the inability to speak authoritatively and take charge as a substantive Minister of State in matters of National Security. She is said to be more involved in ceremonial duties than actual policy formulation and decision-making.
THISDAY Assessment – Above Average

  Minister of Interior
Moro’s Stewardship
Enmeshed in Controversy
Comrade Abba Moro’s tenure in office has been characterised by controversies, prominent among them being series of allegations of recruitment scam in most of the agencies under his ministry.  However, Moro has also recorded some successes within the period under review including the establishment of the National Fire Academy, which has trained close to 300, and the creation of the National Fire Safety Code. Some senior officers were sent on overseas courses and local training courses. Also, most of the paramilitary agencies including the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) have been modernized and with well trained counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency arms. Accordingly, the reforms at NIS has brought immense results with speedy processing of international passports, better secured borders.
The minister has also been a strong advocate of Prison decongestion, amendment of the obsolete Prison Act, secured borders and favourable expatriate quota regime. The minister has raised alarm over the need to decongest the prisons, reform the laws, expedite trials and build world class prisons, at least one in each of the six geo-political zones of the country.
Nevertheless, like stated earlier the minister has been enmeshed in a lot of controversies with various allegation of nepotism, high-handedness and overbearing interference in the administrative mechanism of various parastatals under the ministry. The most prominent of these are the widely publicized power tussle with the immediate past Comptroller-General of Immigration (CGI), Mrs. Rose Chinyere Uzoma, over the control of NIS, which led to her sack, and as well the ongoing bickering over who succeeds her. There is current stalemate in the appointment of a substantive, and some of the senior officers of Immigration Service have accused the minister of having serious interest on who becomes the new CGI as he is purported to be opposed to the confirmation of the acting CGI, Rilwanu Musa.
THISDAY Assessment – Poor Performance

  Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance
Strong on Fiscal Discipline But Unemployment, Income Inequalities Persist
The former World Bank Managing Director has provided the compass with which the nation has navigated financial matters. She has been the arrow head of the government’s economic management mechanism since August 2011.
Following a grinding nationwide protest that followed the removal of fuel subsidy in January 2012, the minister set up a probe committee headed by the Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, to check the festering corrupt practices that led to unprecedented subsidy pay-outs between 2011 and 2012. Major fallouts of the committee’s work included the indictment of 25 firms for various infractions of the subsidy regime. This culminated in the prosecution of various indicted firms and individuals. Flowing from this, the minister has been able to firm up procedures to curb the excesses that led to the breaches.
The Nigerian economy has been adjudged strong by global rating agencies, though unemployment rate is high just as some other economic indices are not flattering. With inflation now down, exchange rate relatively stable, and fiscal deficit at just a little below 2 per cent of GDP –which is below the national threshold of 3 per cent, international rating agencies such as Fitch, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s have given the country a positive economic outlook. Nigeria’s bonds were also recently included in the Barclays and JP Morgan Emerging Market indices.  The government has also evolved innovative domestic debt management strategy to enables it tackle the huge domestic debt. A Sinking Fund has already retired N75 billion of matured bonds this year as against the practice of rolling them over. This is aimed at decelerating the debt stock in line with government’s strategic plan.
The minister recently unfolded a raft of incentives/measures to resuscitate the capital market and check abuses, over four years after the asset bubble created by margin lending and insider abuse burst. One of these is the granting of a forbearance of about N22.6 billion on the margin loans of 84 stockbrokers. Also, stamp duties and value added tax (VAT) on stock market transaction fees have been eliminated-- These have helped the market to rebound. Okonjo-Iweala achievements in the ministry in the last one year are legion. There is the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWiN), which is a flagship response to the unemployment challenge in the country. YOUWIN is a business plan competition to encourage talented young entrepreneurs to set up new businesses or expand existing ones, which will employ other people. Winners of the competition get between N1 million and N10 million in addition to low interest credit, mentoring and other forms of support. The projection is that between 80,000 and 100,000 jobs will be created in YOUWIN’s first three years.
The Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) has commenced with an initial seed capital of $1 billion. With the SWF, the Nigerian economy is expected to become more attractive for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) while unrestricted spending of unanticipated income will be curtailed.
With foreign reserves of nearly $50 billion and the Excess Crude Account (ECA) of about $5 billion, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is already projecting Nigeria’s foreign reserves to increase to about $80 billion in the next four years.
However, on the flip of these positives are a number of socio-economic challenges including high unemployment, widening inequality, and huge infrastructure deficit gaps.
The minister has also been criticised for hanging on to the old prescriptions of the World Bank and the IMF, which champion spending cuts and austerity to the detriment of economic stimulus through which new jobs can be created.
THISDAY Assessment – Above Average

  Minister of Transport
Under Umar’s Watch,
Railways Have Come Alive
Senator Idris Umar is not a neophyte in government having been in the National Assembly before, though he could not be described as an expert in the transport industry before he was appointed.

For full assessment see:
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ministerial-scorecard-towards-may-29/148626/