I would want to think a senator is more powerful especially if he/she has the backing of the senate but a minister does not have that much support from the executive. On the other hand, as a minister, u call the shot in ur ministry but as a senator, u are only a member of the senate except u are senate president or a committee chairman! By and large, s senator is more powerful even as he/she is elected and not appointed as in d case of a minister.
However, in Nigeria my people would rather be minister for one year than be a senator for 4 years for obvious reasons.

franchasofficia:
In the hierarchy of political offices in Nigeria are:

Federal Level
President
Senators
Reps


State Level
Governor
HoAs


LGA Level
Chairman
Councilors



SGF, CoS, Ministers, SAs, PAs, Commissioners, etc are mere appointees who are at the mercy of their principals that appointed them.


This is just like comparing a UK Member of Parliament with those Secretaries that function like Ministers in Nigeria, they are not comparable.


The only reason Ministers and other appointees of the President of Nigeria wield so much power and influence in Nigeria is because Nigeria is a corrupt country that thrive on corruption and rotten system.



Ordinarily, a Minister is not supposed to talk where a Senator is talking because they are not mates. A Minister cannot be appointed if Senators say no to his or her appointment, that alone should tell you who has more power.



Senators can remove the person that appointed the Minister aka President through impeachment, but President cannot remove a Senator legally unless through corruption in Nigeria through election rigging and political witch hunting.



You guys don't know the power of a Senator. Senators are the representatives and mouthpiece of the citizens who employed the President through their votes and they can remove the President through impeachment. Senators are very powerful in every nation, its just that Nigeria is so corrupt that makes Senators to look ordinary to you guys.



Just imagine the comparison, a Senator with an Ordinary appointed Minister who can be fired by the President's kitchen cabinet the next day he was appointed without any reason.




A House of Assembly member is also bigger politically than a mere Commissioner.



My uncle was once a House of Assembly member of my state and later became The Speaker and when he couldn't win reelection, the Governor whom he was loyal to when he was speaker of house settled him with a Commissioner appointment and believe me that was the end of his political career.



Anywhere in the world, you do not compare an elected office holder with an appointed official who can be fired at any time.



Senators are very powerful, but in Nigeria, due to corruption, a Minister have more opportunities to loot more money than a Senator but politically, a Senator is bigger than an ordinary Minister.

there's nothing like president, senators and house of reps in hierarchy in nigeria.

Oga, the ONLY powerful arm of govt in Nigeria is the executive arm of govt and the minister is part of it.

It's madness and childish compare a senator to the SGF?
It's never heard of that a house of assembly member is being compared to a comissioner.
Una normal sef?

The only person that wields influence in that full senate house is the senate president, the rest na "yes sir" assignment dem dey there.

Your logic that the Senate can reject a ministerial nominee and can sack him is childish, HR in a company vets and determines who the companies employs, does it make the HR more influential than the employees that comes through him?

For you Info, let me tell you for free, the legislature has no single power over the executive in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, the senate does not have the right, powers, balls to unseat or reject a minister, that powers lies with the executive ONLY.

And you comparing a house of assembly member to a commissioner got me

Desammyst:
A senator is higher than minister. Considering remuneration and office requirements.

Plus 2million enjoyment allowance

ckc:
I ask this innocent question cos I have been wondering why a serving senator like Dave Umahi would leave his senatorial seat and "demote" himself to ordinary Minister that needs to pass through the Senate before resuming. Political gurus educate me please.

depends on point of view, power belongs to senators as they are lawmakers, they can even remove a president, but when it comes to money, ministers na baba

Putinofrussia:
Minister is like the president in his ministry.
Sometimes,he doesn't touch his or her emoluments because of lobbyist's massive 'gifts' and other extras in order than they can get contracts and favours from him.
Minister has a lot of people that he controls and affects more than a senator.Think about the convoys and most especially his closeness to the federal power.
They are just almost as powerful as the governor.Governors can control senator mildly and he can cause his downfall in elections.
Not so with a minister. You remember Amaechi and Wike as a minister.
A senator will rather even be a junior minister than a senator.

Then you forget that a senator is an elected member while a minister is via an appointment that can be terminated anytime

ISLAMBAD:
A minister, especially the one with a good portfolio

Minister heads a ministry..

They steal through inflated costs of projects..

A senator is just there depending only on his income ..

As a minister, if 200Billion is allocated to your ministry annually, there is chances you will corner 50 billion then use the rest to work..

But a senator depends on their 36 million naira monthly salary and 1.2 billion naira annual constituency allowance..

Unless if you are a Senate President..

Infact all of them are criminals!!

why using criminality as an example

ISLAMBAD:
A minister, especially the one with a good portfolio

Minister heads a ministry..

They steal through inflated costs of projects..

A senator is just there depending only on his income ..

As a minister, if 200Billion is allocated to your ministry annually, there is chances you will corner 50 billion then use the rest to work..

But a senator depends on their 36 million naira monthly salary and 1.2 billion naira annual constituency allowance..

Unless if you are a Senate President..

Infact all of them are criminals!!

😂😂😂😂😂😂..... Nice one

Puss360:
In my opinion I believe Senator is higher..
But as for money, I think minister is more....

Let's wait for others sha

That depends on the ministry you heading

But by hierarchy in govt. the senate is higher

Oparasunny125:
Then you forget that a senator is an elected member while a minister is via an appointment that can be terminated anytime

Almost everything in the world has its advantages and disadvantages.
So also is the minister against the senator's comparison.
Most of these politicians prefer to weild power than anything.
The minister can demolish the buildings,businesses etc of a senator if they fall in his ministry's ambit.

Truly,the senator is elected but the minister weilds more power than him even if he is going to use one year.
What they all really want is power and a minister has wider power than a senator because he controls his ministry while the senator has no ministry and no federal power.
We have seen some Minister's using 8 years at a stretch while the senator was not elected again.
Just like I said,the most powerful thing in the world that human being can possess is power.
This is basically where the minister beats the senator.

BoldBrainz:


Yoruba people and herbal drinks. Una no dey carry eye see container with herbs and water..😂. Even if na flood person fetch put for transparent bottle, na so your men dey rush am. No wonder them dey give you 360 degrees kuntus stretching.

I don't drink concoctions abeg! Distilled and refined gin works better. Vodka preferably.

Vodka is refined, yes. It is, however, definitely NOT healthy.

ckc:
So why would Dave leave being a senator to become a minister?

I think so that he can continue to use his education and skill of being an engineer. Of course, he cannot use that in the senate.

Common sense is not common to many people here on Nairaland. If being a senator and an House of Representatives member is higher and more important than being minister no nigerian politician will quit them to take up a ministerial role.

Yestogood:


Vodka is refined, yes. It is, however, definitely NOT healthy.

None of them are.
But hey, something has to kill a man, right?!

Nathaniel23:
A senator does not have access to money more than constituency allocation which isn’t that much while minister has access to huge amount of budgetary allocation which can be stolen as it’s done in Africa

Check how much a constituency allowance cost

If a Senator is higher and more honorable than a minister, why did Umahi quit the Senate to become a minister?

The budget of defense ministry for example is way bigger than the budget of Kano, River's state.
Did you know the envelopes that will come to Minister's hand so he could award contract to their company?.
Do you think if it is not more financially rewarding Dave Umahi will leave Senate and grab ministerial portfolio.

ISLAMBAD:
A minister, especially the one with a good portfolio

Minister heads a ministry..

They steal through inflated costs of projects..

A senator is just there depending only on his income ..

As a minister, if 200Billion is allocated to your ministry annually, there is chances you will corner 50 billion then use the rest to work..

But a senator depends on their 36 million naira monthly salary and 1.2 billion naira annual constituency allowance..

Unless if you are a Senate President..

Infact all of them are criminals!!

You've not explain satisfactorily. Only talking about stealing money.

who told you senators get 36M as salary?
they dnt get that much, no dey reason like mumu nau

Nigerian political criminologist!

ISLAMBAD:
A minister, especially the one with a good portfolio

Minister heads a ministry..

They steal through inflated costs of projects..

A senator is just there depending only on his income ..

As a minister, if 200Billion is allocated to your ministry annually, there is chances you will corner 50 billion then use the rest to work..

But a senator depends on their 36 million naira monthly salary and 1.2 billion naira annual constituency allowance..

Unless if you are a Senate President..

Infact all of them are criminals!!

ckc:
I ask this innocent question cos I have been wondering why a serving senator like Dave Umahi would leave his senatorial seat and "demote" himself to ordinary Minister that needs to pass through the Senate before resuming. Political gurus educate me please.

He decided to go from Elected to APPOINTED.!!


Like,, if his seat is still undergoing dispute in the tribunal,, what does that entail..??

A Fresh Election.??
Whereas the former election is still undergoing some legal disputes.??

[color=#770077][/color]

I'm here for the comment

Senator.

ISLAMBAD:
A minister, especially the one with a good portfolio

Minister heads a ministry..

They steal through inflated costs of projects..

A senator is just there depending only on his income ..

As a minister, if 200Billion is allocated to your ministry annually, there is chances you will corner 50 billion then use the rest to work..

But a senator depends on their 36 million naira monthly salary and 1.2 billion naira annual constituency allowance..

Unless if you are a Senate President..

Infact all of them are criminals!!

Lolz.

I don’t care.
When they can recite national anthem off heart maybe I’ll listen.

Puss360:

So what's your problem now??

Keep Yoruba out of your problematic and odious conversation. Period!

haybhi1:

Keep Yoruba out of your problematic and odious conversation. Period!

Okay sir....


Next Patient please!!!

franchasofficia:
You lack wisdom.


A lawmaker is bigger than an ordinary appointed Minister who can be fired at any time without any reason.



You cannot fire a Senator but you can fire a Minister without explanation


A Minister is a mere errand boy of the President who is at the mercy of the President while a Senator is an elected official just like the President.


Based on Nigerian setting of corruption, a Minister stand opportunity to loot more than a Senator. That's the only ground a Minister enjoys more than a Senator but in hierarchy of political power, a Minister is an errand boy that can be fired at any time the President and his kitchen cabinet wishes.

I can see, with all the wisdom you have, you can't even put your diction together with good sentences and punctuation marks. Quick to abuse yet an empty vessel.

And why will Lalong jettison being a Minister in Labour Ministry to being a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

AmazingELixir:
Ok guys let's analyse it this way,

The constitution does not contain any recognized pecking order in terms of hierarchy for ministers and senators but we can start by looking at it from their governmental arms.

A senator belong to the legislative arm of government and duly elected by process of election while a minister belongs to the executive arm with existence brought about by appointment subject to the approval of the upper chamber (senators).

On the above premise one can argue that a senator is higher in hierarchy since they cannot be summarily sacked the way a minister can.

Conversely, while a senator represents a portion of the the country otherwise referred to as district, the minister's reach is nationwide furthermore the minister is a microcosm of the president in that they control enormous resources which the senator can only dream of...on the basis of these a typical politician will readily jettison a senatorial seat for that of a minister just as Umahi did not because he loves the country.....but rather he simply loves his pocket more and he by virtue of this executive existence stands to command far more influence than a senator.

In conclusion what a politician aims at is influence in term of power and resources and between a minister and a senator the former stands head and shoulder above the latter.

tundesto:
And why will Lalong jettison being a Minister in Labour Ministry to being a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

Common chairman...the answer stares you in the face...which right thinking person will opt for the Labour ministry with all the industrial strikes, labour disputes and agitation for wages review that even the president himself cannot solve.

Besides when you talk about juicy ministries, labour is on the opposite side.

That ministry is headache and I'm very such you'll do thesame as Lalong if you were in his shoes.