The appointment and dissolution of the board of directors of the public corporation fall under _______?

Analyze the question The question asks who has the power to appoint and dissolve the board of directors of a public corporation. In other words, which type of control is being exercised over the corporation.

Explain the concept Public corporations (e.g., NNPC, NEPA/PHCN, Nigerian Ports Authority) are government-owned bodies set up by law to provide services or run commercial activities. The government controls them in several ways:

• Ministerial control: The supervising minister, on behalf of the government, appoints the board members, can dissolve the board, gives policy directions, and approves budgets and major projects.
• Legislative control: The National Assembly creates the corporation through an Act, receives its annual reports, and can investigate it through committees. It does not run appointments or dissolve boards day to day.
• Judicial control: The courts settle legal disputes involving the corporation and check that it acts within the law.
• Political control: This is a general term for influence by the government or political actors. It is not the specific, formal mechanism for appointing boards.

Solution

1. Appointing and dissolving a board is an executive, administrative power.
2. In Nigeria, this power is exercised by the supervising minister (often with the President's approval), as stated in the establishing Act.
3. So the control is ministerial control.

Answer: A. ministerial control

Exam tip: Link keywords to the type of control:

• Appoint / dissolve board, give directives → Ministerial
• Create by Act, investigate, receive reports → Legislative
• Settle disputes, interpret the law → Judicial