President Muhammadu Buhari has said that civil servants and technocrats in Nigeria are more involved in the process of governance than ministers.
Buhari who made the remark in an interview with French television station in France yesterday, said the ministers are only there to “make a lot of noises.”
The president defended his delay in composing his cabinet, insisting that the civil service provides the continuity.
His words: “The civil service provides the continuity, the technocrat. And in any case, they are the people who do most of the work. The ministers are there, I think, to make a lot of noise, for the politicians to make a lot of noise. But the work is being done by the technocrats. They are there, they have to provide the continuity, dig into the records and then guide (those of us) who are just coming in.
“They have been there, some of them for 15 years, some for 20 years. So I think this question of ministers is political. People from different constituencies want to see their people directly in government, and see what they can get out of it.”
Asked if the absence of a finance minister was affecting the Nigerian capital market and the economy, Buhari said: “It is what we know – and which we learnt from the western system. The civil service provides the continuity, the technocrat.”
Buhari however assured that he intends to stick with the decision to name his cabinet before the end of the month.
“I said we will have one by the end of the month, and time flies. The end of the month is coming too quickly for my liking. Yea, I will stick to it. I will send the names to the National Assembly.”
