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Six months after the Federal Executive Council under President Bola Tinubu resolved to implement the report of the Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government parastatals, commissions and agencies popularly known as the Oronsaye Committee Report, Nigerians are still waiting for the government to deliver what it promised.
Abandoned by previous administrations, the 800-page report contains a list of over 500 federal agencies that are to be restructured.
The committee was set up in 2012 by President Goodluck Jonathan as part of the public service reform agenda of his administration, to streamline service delivery, reduce the cost of governance and improve efficiency. The committee report was hailed by Nigerians as a positive step to return the country on the pathway of efficiency and effective resource management.
Two inter-ministerial committees were established previously by the Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari administrations on implementation modalities, without any result. President Jonathan failed to act on the 2012 White Paper submitted by the inter-ministerial committee, obviously due to political expediency, ahead of the 2015 election. The Buhari administration also failed to implement the report after spending eight years in office, despite setting up an inter-ministerial committee to review the report. There are concerns that the Tinubu administration may be acting slowly on implementation of the report due to political exigencies, even as the country continues to bleed, with many agencies being funded while virtually performing same or similar tasks.
Bold attempt to public service reforms
The renewed interest by President Bola Tinubu administration on February 25, 2024, via the resolution of the Federal Executive Council, rekindled hope of the citizens that perhaps the report would come to fruition. The 12 years of indecision has had its impact on the country given the lost opportunities from implementing the report. Citizens are disillusioned that nothing is being done to reduce the cost of governance, despite assurances.
Briefing State House Correspondents, after the FEC meeting, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, on February 27th disclosed the resolution of FEC to set-up a ten-member inter-ministerial committee headed by George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to work out implementation modalities for the Oronsaye Report. The committee had a 12-week deadline to ensure that the necessary legislative amendments and administrative restructuring needed to implement the reforms were effected in an efficient manner. The deadline elapsed in the fourth week of May.
Akume’s committee members
Apart from Akume, other key members of the committee include, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Folashade Yemi-Esan, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Dasuki Arabi, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reform.
Others are Abdullahi Abubakar Gumel, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ibrahim Kunle Olarewaju, Senior Special Assistant to the President on the National Assembly (House of Representatives), Hakeem Muri Okunola, Principal Secretary to the President, and Richard P. Pheelangwah, the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office.
Nigerians are concerned about the delay in the implementation given the clamour for pragmatic approach to governance and public service delivery in the face of scarce resources, frugality and aligning of development objectives by the government.
Analysts have wondered why the Oronsaye Report has remained jinxed for over a decade, beginning from the initiator, President Jonathan who shied away from implementing his signature reform programme.
Bottlenecks to reforms
It’s almost six months since the committee was handed the assignment but it’s been all quiet from the office of the SGF. A source in the know simply told Saturday Sun, that “all I know is that the committee has been working. The report will be made available soon.”
Nigerians had hoped that the Akume committee, which incidentally is made up of senior government officials, would perform its task expediently and thoroughly in a timely manner to move to the next stage of implementation.
The list of agencies and departments due to be merged, scrapped and returned to an existing ministry already exists.
National Assembly in the mix
Expectedly, the National Assembly has a role to play as the implementation of the Oronsaye report will require legislative process via amendments and abrogation of existing laws establishing these agencies. The House of Representatives established a Special Ad-hoc Committee on Restructuring of Government Agencies and Commissions to manage the process. On July 2, 2024, the committee disclosed its readiness to engage with the outcomes of the recommendations of the Oronsaye Report. At a news conference in Abuja, the committee chairman, Ibrahim Ishiaka said it has the mandate to work with the executive to ensure that the process succeeds. He explained that the committee would review approximately 110 organisations during its work.
“It is crucial for us to review the recommendations from the Oronsaye Report and other relevant White Papers. This will ensure that the government structures are aligned with current realities, best practices, and the evolving needs of our society.”
Highlights of the Oronsaye Report
After a thorough data collection and stakeholder consultations, the committee headed by Steve Oronsaye, in its 800-page report, recommended reducing the number of statutory agencies from 263 to 161, abolishing 38 agencies, merging 52, and reverting 14 to departments within ministries.
Navigating the pathway
As the committee tries to navigate through this crucial assignment, Joe Abah, a former Director General, Bureau for Public Service Reforms lists key steps the Akume Committee may adopt to achieve results. The checklists include audit of assets, staff audit, revision of mandate, management arrangements and organisational structures.
“When organisations are to be merged, there is a need to consider how to handle duplications in functions and what to do with excess personnel.” Abah quipped.
Agencies to be scrapped
1. Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate to be scrapped and functions
transferred to the Federal Ministry of Finance
2. National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) to be scrapped and functions transferred to the department of Basic and Secondary Education in
Federal Ministry of Education.
Agencies to be merged
1. National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) to be merged under the Centre for Disease Control in the Federal Ministry of Health.
2. National Emergency Agency (NEMA) to be merged with National Commission Refugee, Migration and Internally Displaced Persons [NCFRMI].
3. Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA) to be merged with
Directorate of Technical Aid (DTAC) and to function as a department in the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4. Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to be merged with Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE).
5. Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) to be merged with Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).
6. National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to be merged with National Centre for Agriculture Mechanization (NCAM) and Project Development Institute (PRODA).
7. National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) to be merged with
National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB).
8. National Institute for Leather Science Technology (NILEST) to be merged with National Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT).
9. The Nomadic Education Commission (NEC) to be merged with the National
Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult Education and Non Formal Education.
10. Federal Radio Corporation (FRCN) to be merged with Voice of Nigeria (VON)
11. The National Commission for Museums and Monuments to be merged with National gallery of Arts.
12. The National Theatre to be merged with National Troupe of Nigeria.
13. The National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC) to be merged with National Metallurgical Training Institute (NMTI).
14. Nigerian Army University (NAUB) to be merged with Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
15. Airforce Institute of Technology (AFIT) to be merged with Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
Agencies to be subsumed
1. Service Compact with all Nigerians (SERVICOM) to be subsumed to function as a department under Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR).
2. Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) to be subsumed to function as a department under the National Boundary Commission (NBC).
3. National Salaries, Income and Wages Commissioned (NSIWC) to be subsumed into Revenue Mobilization & Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC).
4. Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution to be subsumed under Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).
5. Public Complaints Commission (PCC) to be subsumed under National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
6. Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis (NITR) to be subsumed into Institute of Veterinary Research (VOM).
7. Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) to be subsumed under the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD).
8. National Intelligence Agency Pension Commission to be subsumed under the administration of Nigerian Pension Commission (PenCom).
9. The Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to be subsumed as a department in the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy.
Agencies to be relocated
1. Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDHC) to be relocated to the Ministry of power.
2. National Agricultural Land Development Agency [NALDA] to be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
3. National Blood Service Commission to be converted into an Agency and relocated to the Federal Ministry of Health.
4. Nigerians in the Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) to be converted into an Agency and transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
