‘We Are In Crisis, I Don’t Think 45 Ministers Are Enough’ – Aliyu Audu

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Aliyu Audu, has opined that the appointment of 45 ministers by President Bola Tinubu is not enough for a country with over 200 million people.

Audu, a member of the Media Strategy Subcommittee, APC Presidential Transition Council, said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily Wednesday, “I don’t think 45 is even enough. I don’t think 48 is enough. We have a population of over 200 million. We are in crisis.”

Naija News reports that Audu’s position comes amidst criticisms that the number of ministers appointed by the president was much and would be a burden on the country in terms of the cost of governance.

However, in his argument, the APC chieftain said when Tinubu was the two-term governor of Lagos State, he felt the need to take governance closer to the people, so he created more local governments.

He submitted that “A lot of people thought he was taking it too far, but look at how Lagos has moved in 24 years and how every other state has moved in 24 years.

“I’m not talking about potential. I’m not talking about what it used to be before, but I’m talking about sheer growth between then and now.”

Asked to give a preferred number of ministers, ”Audu said I’m not putting any number to it.”

Speaking further, he said, “Lagos isn’t the poorest state in Nigeria, is it? The standard of living in Lagos State isn’t the worst in Nigeria, is it? Then, in terms of burden, Lagos holds the burden of the entire nation.

“What it means is, if we can take a bit of this pressure off Lagos by creating six other states in six geopolitical zones, that sort of reduces rural-urban migration, reduces people leaving the North, the East, the West to Lagos.

“It balances up the states, and to do this, you need more people, you need more hands, we need more processes.”