Online, FG still parading sacked ministers as FEC members
October 14, 2013 by Temitayo Famutimi
Thirty-two days after nine ministers were axed in the first major cabinet shake-up since President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration on May 29, 2011, the Federal Government has yet to make necessary changes on the nation’s official web portal.
A check on Sunday on www.nigeria.gov.ng reveals that the names and portfolios of four of the nine axed ministers were retained as subsisting members of the Federal Executive Council. On the portal, erstwhile Minister of State for Defence, Olusola Obada, leads the pack of sacked ministers still being referred to as cabinet members.
Apart from Obada, former Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Buka Tijani; that of Science and Technology, Prof. Okon Bassey-Ewa; as well as the Minister of State for Power, Zainab Kuchi, who were relieved of their positions, were still being referred to as FEC members on the portal.
But apart from the official national portal that still parades axed ministers as FEC members, some ministries are also doing the same.
For instance, the Federal Ministry of the Environment has yet to see reasons to describe Hajia Hadiza Mailafa as a former minister on its website. Both local and foreign visitors toe nvironment.gov.ng, hoping to conduct official businesses with the ministry, are still being welcomed by a “Welcome Message’’ written by Mailafa.
Besides, Mailafa’s name appears atop the list of principal officers of the ministry.
On the website of the Ministry of Defence, mod.gov.ng, Obada’s photograph appeared conspicuously on a picture gallery section of the portal where the profiles of the management team of the ministry were uploaded. No mention was made of the supervising minister for the ministry, Labaran Maku, who doubles as the minister of information.
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also yet to make the changes on its website, www.foreignaffairs.gov.ng.On its list of past and present ministers who held sway in the ministry, Olugbenga Ashiru, who was at the helms until September 11, is still being referred to as the incumbent.
However, the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, which prides itself as the Federal Government’s engine room for harnessing technology for Nigeria’s social and economic development , has reflected the development on its website.
The name and profile of the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson, who was appointed as the supervising minister for the ministry, has been inputted on the ministry’s web portal.
Also, the National Planning Commission appears to take its digital presence more seriously as it has reflected on its website the supervisory minister of national planning and deputy chairman of the commission, Amb. Bashir Yuguda, as the new helmsman. Yuguda, is the incumbent minister of state for works.
A digital media expert, Mr. Akeem Baiyewu, berated the Federal Government for “mis-informing” local and foreign visitors to the national official portal.
Baiyewu described the present state of the portal as a “stagnant river”, adding that it as an “embarrassment.”
He noted that the general best practice for the management of a digital presence is the need to present relevant information in a timely manner to interested members of the public who need them to make decisions that affect them and their organisations.
He said, “Definitely the state of nigeria.gov.ngdoes not depict a well managed digital presence. Once there are information changes in government circles, websites should be one of the first places such changes should be effected.
“Part of what government websites are meant for is to give accurate updated information and there is more convenience of information changes in a website than other traditional media. This development tells the numerous visitors that our MDAs do not care about their brand visibility.
“It is obvious that some visitors to the official portal as well as the websites of the ministries that have yet to effect the necessary changes have beenmal-informedand this is highly embarrassing.”
Baiyewu, who argued that the advantages of having a well updated government portal cannot be over emphasised, said it was high time government stopped paying lip service to leveraging the digital media for information dissemination.
According to him, not having a website is as bad as laying claim to a website that is not regularly updated.
He added, “Normally, ministries should have webmasters who should be in touch with all its departments and agencies for information. But in a situation that the web maintenance is outsourced, it is the duty of the ministry and the web maintenance company to ensure they are in constant touch with each other for informational exchange.
“Besides, to have a fully functional and well updated website, MDA’s should dedicate resources to manage and optimise them.”

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