Secrets Reporters
Political arrogance does not always arrive with noise. Sometimes, it comes dressed as a press statement, carrying official language, decorated titles and the quiet assumption that public office can be stretched beyond its lawful boundaries.
This was the case with a recent statement issued by Hon. Bin Usman Rano, media aide to Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure, the Honourable Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, announcing the appointment of seven persons to assist in running his office.
Rano, who is himself an aide, appointed Abubakar Alhassan Muhammad Lale as personal assistant. He also named Umar Bashir Umar as Special Adviser on Protocol; Abdullahi Muhammad Ghali as Special Adviser on Media; Bashir Ibrahim Sisay as Special Adviser on Student Matters; Najeeb Garba Lawan Rano as Special Adviser on Youth and Sports; Yusuf Tijjani YT Rano as Special Adviser on Special Duties; and Muhammad Uzairu as Special Adviser on Religious Affairs.
It was not the appointment of a personal assistant that raised issues. Public officers often work with assistants. The concern is the audacity of a ministerial aide appointing six “special advisers” to assist in running his own office, as though the office of a media aide had suddenly become a ministry inside a ministry, a caucus inside a caucus.
The statement did not cite any law. It did not cite approval from the president, the FCT minister, the minister of state, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the head of service or any recognised public service authority. It did not state whether the appointees would be paid from public funds. It did not say whether they would receive official identification, allowances, office space, protocol privileges or any benefit from the FCT Administration.
Instead, it simply announced them as “newly appointed officials” expected to strengthen the operational capacity of the office. That phrase alone should worry every Nigerian who still believes that public office must have boundaries.
Under Nigeria’s constitutional structure, the title “Special Adviser” is not a decorative label to be handed out for political convenience. It is a public-office designation tied to lawful authority, approval, remuneration and responsibility. Section 151 of the 1999 Constitution places the appointment of special advisers within the authority of the president, with their number and remuneration subject to lawful prescription.
Public office is not a personal estate. It is not a reward centre for loyalists. It is not a place where every aide creates his own aides, and those aides carry titles that suggest government authority.
At a time Nigerians are being told to endure economic hardship, reduce waste and accept the high cost of governance as unavoidable, a ministerial aide cannot casually announce six special advisers and expect the public to remain silent.