By Lateef Adegbite And Suleiman Umaaru
Former President Goodluck Jonathan had expected Muhammed Buhari, his successor, in 2015, to adopt and implement the 2012, Stephen Oronsaye, Presidential Committee report on Gesturing and Rationalization of the Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies including that of the 2014 CONFAB report for Restructuring of Nigeria since he could not implement it before he left office in May 29, 2015.
The former Nigerian President was said to have appealed to then President Buhari to take the implementation of the reports serious to make for a leaner Federal Civil Service, FCS, and reduce the cost of governance at the Federal level and a better country but that was how far he could go.
Recall that Oronsaye who had headed the Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalization of the FCS, was incidentally a former Head of FCS, during the Jonathan’s Administration. The Committee was said to have recommended that the 263 of the statutory agencies funded by the government be reduced to 161.
It was said to have recommended that 38 of the government agencies be scrapped, 52 others merged with other existing agencies and 14 reverted to departments in the various Federal ministries to save cost. The Committee had declared that the implementation of the report to its logical conclusion would save the country a whopping N261 billion which could be channeled to other areas of the economy like provision of health, educational and infrastructural facilities.
The Oronsaye led Presidential Committee had recommended that the Law establishing the National Salaries and Wages Commission should be repealed as the agency was a drain pipe and its functions transferred to the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Responsibility Commission, RMFRC. The Committee had said that for the new RMAFC to be fully implemented without any legal hiccups, the National Assembly will need to amend the 199 Constitution.
The Committee did not stop there. It was said to have also recommended to the government to merge the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission with Bureau of Public Enterprise, BPE, to be christened as Public Enterprises and Infrastructural Concession Commission.
Other key recommendations of the Oronsaye Committee was the merger of the three top anti-corruption agencies: Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau, into one agency for optimum performance.
This is in addition to the recommendations that ‘’the Public Complaints Commission should take over the functions of the National Human Rights Commission while Pensions Transitional Arrangement Directorate , PTAD, be scrapped and functions taken over by the Federal ministry of Finance’’ , which currently has Wale Wale Edun as the minister and Coordinating minister of the economy. Many beliebbe that Former Presidnt Jonathan would have implemente the Oronsaye report if he was relected into office in the 2015, Presidential election but Muhammadu Buhari, of then Opposition All Progressive Congress won, APC, won.
Until the Katsina state born Nigerian President handed over to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former governor of Lagos state, the closest he came to sighting the 800 page had served report was to set up another Committee to review both the Oronsaye report and the white paper that had been produced . The Committee was said to have been chaired by Goni Aji, a retired former Head of the FSC. Another Committee was said to have been set up by then Buhari Administration to review the agencies created under Jonathan’s Administration between 2014 and 2023. The second Committee was said to have been chaired by Ms Amal People, who was said to have also headed the FSC
Informed sources told The Value News that after the former President Committees had submitted their reports, Buhari, who appears to be marking time not to implement the report before the February 25, 2023 election, had set up another committee, in July 2022, headed by one Ebele Okeke, who was a formerHead of FCS, to produce a white paper on the two previous reports which was said to have been submitted to Boss Mustapha, then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, meaning dead on arrival.
It was therefore not very surprising why Former President Jonathan had asked whether any Nigerian President would ever implement the Osronsaye report? Unknown to him, President Tinubu has prepared the ground to implement the report which Buhari could not do in eight years of his Administration.
As a prelude to the implementation of the Oronsaye’s report, on Monday, February 26, 2024, Tinubu had set up an eight-man committee to confront the monster of high cost of governance and ensure that the necessary Legislative amendments and administrative restructuring needed to implement the reforms are effected in an efficient manner without hiccups.
Theeight-man Committee, mandated to facilitate the implementation of the Oronsaye’s 12 year-old report according to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, includes George Akume, a former governor of Benue state and now Secretary to Government of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan, incumbent Head of the FSC, Attorney General of the Federation and minister of Justice, minister of Budget and Planning, Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman, a former Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, and now Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination and the Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly.
Signs that President Tinubu ‘s government would implement the 12 year –old Orosaye report emerged when he directed a maximum of four staff in all official delegations outside the country while the Chief Executive Officers, CEOs, of agencies can only travel with only two staff members on international trips.
The implications of the directive, according to Ajuri Ngelale, Presidential spokesperson was that even the President could only travel with 20 officials unlike before when he could travel with 50 staff, the Vice President could only travel with five officials, the First Lady and the Vice President’s wife, going On international trips are also to be accompanied by five officials each. For Local trips, the number of the President’s entourage was said to have been reduced to 25, Vice President,15, First Lady and wife of Vice President , 10 each.
Ngelale, Presidential spokesperson had said that the measures were taken ‘’to reduce cost of governance, ensure sanity and prudence in the management of the country’s resources’’. He was emphatic that President Tinubu has approved the massive cost cutting exercise that will touch the entire Federal Government, meaning the FCS, parastatals and agencies including offices of the President , Vic President and the First Lady. This may have informed why the implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye’S Committee report did not come to many as a surprise.
Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state and Presidential Candidate of the Opposition Labour Paty, LP, in the February 25, 2023, election, had said that he would have also implemented the Oronsaye report if he was he was elected Nigeria’s President in the February 25, 2023, general elections as Tinubu has planned to do, describing it as ‘’the best ways to make governance efficient, cost –effective and productive’’.
There are fears in both official and unofficial circles that some Director Generals of the government owned parastatals, agencies and Commissions that will be scraped , subsumed or merged with other existing agencies carrying out the same functions will go with the planned implementation of the Oronsaye’s report by the Tinubu’s Administration to save Administrative costs .
Despite that some Director Generals would lose their jobs with the implementation of Orosaye’s report, President Tinubu has continued to make fresh appointments. The most recent of such appointments was that of Mansur Kabir as the Chairman of Board and Prof. Ifedayo Adetifa, as the CEO, of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, NAFDAC, an agency that had been listed in the Oronsaye’report should be scrapped .
He was said to have also appointed one Hajia Hafsat Bakari, as the Director and CEO of Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NUIU, pending her confirmation by Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom state led Senate.
