“Many agencies will be scrapped and many others will be merged, to pave the way to a leaner government.”
President Bola Tinubu has resolved to implement the Stephen Oronsaye report that called for a leaner government by merging some agencies and scrapping some others.
The president’s decision was announced by a presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on X.
“Twelve years after the Steve Oronsaye panel submitted its report on restructuring and rationalizing Federal government parastatals and agencies and a white paper issued two years after, President Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council today decided to implement the report,” Mr Onanuga wrote.
“Many agencies will be scrapped and many others will be merged, to pave the way to a leaner government,” he said.
Also, briefing State House correspondents after Monday’s meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) would be scrapped, merged or subsumed into relevant organisations of government
He said the aim was only to cut costs and not to throw Nigerians into the labour market.
Mr Idris said the details of the affected MDAs would be made known soon, adding that a committee had been set up for the implementation of the report.
Background
In 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan set up the presidential committee on the reformation of government agencies chaired by Steven Oronsaye, a former Head of Service of the Federation.
Its terms of reference included, among others, examining the enabling Acts and mandates of all the federal agencies, parastatals, and commissions to determine areas of overlap or duplication of functions.
The committee, in its report, recommended that of the 541 Statutory and Non-Statutory Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions, 263 statutory agencies should be reduced to 161, 38 agencies should be abolished, 52 agencies should be merged, and 14 should revert to departments in ministries.
A white paper committee, headed by the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, reviewed the report and rejected most of the recommendations of the committee when it submitted its report in 2014.
However, even the accepted recommendations were not implemented until the Jonathan administration left office in 2015.
In 2021, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated two committees to implement the report. One of the committees, headed by a former Head of Service, Bukar Aji, was mandated to review the Oronsaye Report and the government white paper. The other committee, chaired by Amal Pepple, was mandated to review MDAs created between 2014 and 2021.
The then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, in July 2022, set up another white paper committee, headed by Ebele Okeke, to review the report of the Pepple committee. However, the Buhari administration failed to implement the report.
While the discourse on the implementation of the report was ongoing, the National Assembly and successive governments have been creating agencies and institutions, therefore, increasing the cost of governance in the process.
The consequence of the bloated government has been the steady increase in the recurrent expenditure of the federal government.
Critics have also accused Mr Tinubu of not willing to reform the civil service. Many refer to the appointment of 50 ministers by Mr Tinubu to buttress the point.
Aside from the appointments, Mr Tinubu also embarked on some frivolous budgetary expenses, most notably the allocation of N344 billion to the National Assembly in the 2024 budget and spending billions on the renovation of his official residence and that of his deputy.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in a statement he posted on X on Sunday, slammed President Tinubu for failing to reduce the size of government, as done by Argentine President Javier Milei.
“He (Milei) started off cutting government expenditure by reducing the size of government and wastage; blocked stealing of government funds, and attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through concessions, tax holidays, and improved ease of doing business,” Atiku said.
Expected opposition
Meanwhile, organised labour groups are expected to kick against the latest move by President Tinubu because the policy may lead to the loss of jobs.
Workers in Nigeria are already grappling with the cost of living crisis due to some of the policies of the current administration, notably the fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange unification policy.
The two main unions in Nigeria, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), are set to embark on nationwide protests against economic hardship.
COMMENT: Good move…
Highlights of Federal Executive Council decisions on Monday 26 February
Here are some of the highlights of the far reaching decisions taken today at the Federal Executive Council meeting, chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
1. FEC approved construction of Lagos-Port Harcourt-Calabar Coastal Superhighway to Messrs Hitech Construction Africa. The First phase made up of 47 kms will begin in Lagos.
2. Social security payments to the vulnerable households to begin immediately. Recipients will be those with NIN and BVN.
3. Social security payments to be extended to graduates from NCE and upwards
4. Consumer Credit to be established very urgently. Chief of Staff to lead a committee that includes Budget Minister, Attorney-General, Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance, to make the scheme a reality.
5. The Council in order to enhance efficiency in the Federal service, and reduce the cost of governance, decided to implement the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye panel on the restructuring and rationalisation of Federal agencies, parastatals and commissions.
The implementation involves merging, subsuming and scrapping agencies with similar functions.
The Oronsaye report was submitted in 2012 to the Jonathan administration. In 2014, the Jonathan government released a white paper on the report. The Buhari administration after re-examining the white paper also released a second white paper in August 2022, but did not implement the report.
However, the Tinubu administration has decided to confront the monster of high governance cost by implementing elements of the report.
An eight-man committee has a 12-week deadline to ensure that the necessary legislative amendments and administrative restructuring needed to implement the reforms are effected in an efficient manner.
The committee comprises Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service, Attorney General and Justice Minister, Budget and Planning Minister, DG Bureau of Public Service Reform, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Special assistant to the president on National Assembly. The Cabinet Affairs Office will serve as the secretariat.
Key recommendations for implementation:
National Salaries, Income and wages Commission to be subsumed under Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission. The National Assembly will need to amend the constitution as RMAFC was established by the constitution.
Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission to be merged with Bureau of Public Enterprise and be rechristened as `Public Enterprises and Infrastructural Concession Commission
National Human Rights Commission to swallow Public Complaints Commission
Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate(PTAD) to be scrapped and functions to be taken over by Federal Ministry of Finance
NEMA and National Commission for Refugees to be fused to become National Emergency and Refugee Management Commission
Border Communities Development Agency to become a department under National Boundary Commission
NACA and NCDC to be merged
SERVICOM to become a department under the Bureau for Public Service Reform(BPSR)
NALDA to return to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
Federal Ministry of Science to supervise a new agency that combines NCAM, NASENI and PRODA
National Commission for Museums and Monuments and National Gallery of Arts to become one entity that will be known as National Commission for Museums, Monuments and Gallery of Arts.
National Theatre to be merged with National Troupe.
13. Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa and Directorate of Technical Aid Corp to be merged under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nigerians in Diaspora Commission to become an agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Federal Radio Corporation and Voice of Nigeria to be one entity to be known as Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Nigeria
National Biotechnology Development Agency(NABDA) and National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology to be emerged into an agency to be known as National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency(NBRDA).
National Institute for Leather Science Technology and National Institute for Chemical Technology to become one agency.
Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development to become one agency.
The National Metallurgical Development Centre and National Metallurgical Training Institute will be merged.
National Institute for Trypanosomiasis to be subsumed under Institute of Veterinary Research in Vom, Jos.
The list is not exhaustive.
Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER NOW
Support MATAZ ARISING’ journalism of integrity and credibility.
Good journalism ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
We ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
TEXT AD: To advertise here – Email ad@matazarising.com
GROUNDWORK FOR THE N1.3 TRILLION PLUNDER OF DESOPADEC
Basil Okoh MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa has just been arrested and taken in by the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly stealing N1.3 Trillion from one agency of the Delta State government, DESOPADEC. Just the thought of the humongous sum is making thinking men and women of Delta swoon. People…
How To Uplift The North
Written by Wole Olaoye MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Six years ago, in my column in Daily Trust shortly after he broke the existing code of secrecy by revealing his humongous salary of N13.5 million as a senator, I said the following about the political activist, Shehu Sani: “Shehu Sani has not disappointed those who swore that he…
Nigeria to revert to fuel importation due to our moribund refineries
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas How Nigeria’s Moribund Refineries Kill Hopes Of Cheap Petrol Despite Dangote Refinery’s Operations Warri refinery has a capacity as 125,000 barrels per day, Kaduna refinery has a capacity of 110,000 barrels per day, while the two combined refinery has a combined capacity for 210,000 barrels per day. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous…