“No law assigned roles to SGF & SSG, the role of the SGF or SSG is derived from the role of any secretary as head of a secretariat”
By Benard Akoma
Despite the enormous influence being wielded by Secretaries, (SGF and SSG) to government in the affairs of both state and federal governments, they are just ordinary appointees of the executive arms of government without any constitutional roles.
This revelation was made by Anyim Pius Anyim, a former secretary to government of the federation himself at the first meeting of the Forum of the Secretary to government of the federation (SGF) and Secretaries to state governments, (SSG) held in SGF office, Abuja, August, 29, 2024.
While presenting a key note address at the event, Anyim however stunned his colleagues when he stated that the office of secretaries to government has no law backing it.
While they play the vital roles of convening executive council meetings, coordinating the activities of the president or governor as the case may be including that of ministers and commissioners respectively, he noted, they are still not members of the council, Anyim clarifies.
According to him, “the office of SGF/SSG is not a creation of law. Section 171(1)(2) and 208 of the constitution only mentioned the SGF/SSG as officers the President/Governor has powers to appoint in the exercise of his executive powers,” he asserted.
Continuing, he stated, that “First schedule part 2, paragraph 10 and Section 209 of the constitution only mentioned the offices of SGF and SSG as offices subject to code of conduct processes and nothing more.” He however wonders why such an important position and its roles in government are not spelt out in the constitution even when it is conspicuously mentioned by the constitution.
Anyim however reiterates that the work of the secretaries to government ought not go beyond the corridors of the executives who appoint them, saying, “being executive appointees under Section 171 and 208 of the constitution we must be sure that the role of SGF/SSG is limited to the executive arm of government.”
The theme of the forum which is “improving Policy Coordination and Implementation for Sustainable National Development: The Roles of Secretaries to the State Governments,” Anyim laments, saying, “the absence of constitutional recognition of office of secretary to government makes its coordinating roles very challenging.” The lacuna, Anyim regrets, allows the secretaries to struggle to be relevant as he stated, “I must note that in view of the fact that the functions of SGF/SSG is not protected under any law, the SGF/SSG has to struggle to be allowed to perform his functions. In fact, he has to compete with other appointees of Mr. President or Governor to perform his functions.”
Anyim who was requested to speak on “Institutionalizing Effective Mechanisms and Synergy in the Coordination and Implementation of Government’s Policies and Programme with emphasis on the Functions and Roles of the Secretaries to the State Governments in the Coordination and Implementation of Government Policies and Programmes,” said that “the office of SGF/SSG should be institutionalized or protected by law first before looking at the steps to institutionalize the roles of SGF/SSG.”
Anyim maintains that no law assigned roles to SGF & SSG. In the First Republic, he further explains, “it was the office of the Principal Cabinet Secretary that covers the role which today is expanded for the SGF.”
Short of describing secretaries to governments as mere secretariat staff, he said, “I make bold to say that the roles presently ascribed to SGF is as articulated by a Presidential Committee. I know that shortly before I became SGF, it was reviewed or upgraded. But by and large, the role of the SGF or SSG is derived from the role of any secretary as the head of a secretariat. In this case, SGF functions as the head of the secretariate to the Executive Arm of Government and so is the SSG,” Anyim affirmed.
Despite this serious omission of the office of secretaries to government in the constitution, Anyim listed the vital roles of secretaries to government to include serving as the repository or custodian of Government records i.e. keep rules, regulations, reports, policies, programmes, etc of government.
Participate in meetings involving the President or Governor as to capture decisions and track their implementation while harmonize these policies and programmes as to ensure that there is no infraction or evasion or distraction therefrom, he further elaborated.
Anyim describes the office of the secretaries to government as the memory bank of government, asserting that, “the implication of the above is that the office of the SGF/SSG is the first reference point for President or Governor for any information on governance, that is why the SGF/SSG is referred to as the frontline adviser to the President or Governor.”
To effectively discharge this role of advising the president or governor properly, Anyim maintains that the office of the secretary to government should be properly placed to capture all government records, reports, policies and programmes. He however emphasizes for effective discharge of such duty, that all policy memos, programmes, proposals etc are expected to pass through the office of the SGF/SSG so that he will be in a position to advise the President or Governor as the need arises. Meanwhile, since no law compels this, Anyim noted, “the President or Governor must give clear directive on this, to avoid some appointees dealing directly with the president or governor bypassing the office of the secretaries to government.”
Anyim, while noting that though SGF/SSG is not a member of the Executive Council but Secretary to the Council, said, “the SGF/SSG is a person appointed by the President or Governor as the case may be and sworn in as the head of the secretariat of the Executive Arm of Government,” he insists that “the ministers/commissioners are not bosses to SGF/SSG rather in order of ranking, the SGF/SSG comes first.”
According to him, “Section 148 (2) demands that the President shall hold regular meetings with the Vice-President and all the Ministers of the Government of the Federation for the purposes of determining the general direction of domestic and foreign policies of the Government of the Federation.”
Coordinating the activities of the President, the Vice-President and the Ministers of the Government of the Federation in the discharge of their executive responsibilities and advising the President generally in discharge of his executive functions other than those functions with respect to which he is required by this Constitution to seek the advice or act on the recommendation of any other person or body,” Anyim observes, falls squarely on the table of SGF.
In view of the above, Anyim reiterates, “we must note that it is the SGF on the approval of the President that convenes these meetings because the office of SGF is the secretariat of these meeting which keeps the records and advises according to these records. The office of the SGF is called the Presidency because it covers Presidential activities and programmes. The office of the SGF/SSG is a work station and his advice must be anchored on the records from his office not from his head,” Anyim emphasised.
Since no other office other than SGF/SSG should cover and keep records of policy meetings of the President or Governor, Anyim insists, “the office of the SGF/SSG being the memory bank of the Government should be extensively equipped and constantly up graded.” It is important therefore, he advised, that the roles of the SGF/SSG need be protected by law for effectiveness, he concluded.
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