President Bola Tinubu has ordered the full implementation of the Oronsaye report.
The Oronsaye report on public sector reforms, submitted in 2012, revealed that there are 541—statutory and non-statutory—Federal Government parastatals, commissions and agencies.
The 2011 report, commissioned by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, had called for the consolidation, merger or scrapping of numerous redundant and inefficient government parastatals.
However, successive administrations failed to act on the report – until now.
Addressing State House Correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris announced that President Tinubu has approved wide-ranging reforms based on the Oransanye recommendations.
According to him, numerous agencies will be eliminated, others combined or restructured.
He said the move was a cost-cutting measure to streamline governance.
He assured workers that the shake-up would not initially affect jobs.
“So in a very bold move today, this administration, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, consistent again with his courage to take very far-reaching decisions in the interest of Nigeria, has taken a decision to implement the so-called Oronsaye Report.
“Now, what that means that a number of agencies, commissions and some departments have actually been scrapped. Some have been modified, marked while others have been subsumed. Others, of course, have also been moved from some ministries to others where government feels they will operate a better.”
Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Mrs. Hadiza Bala-Usman, said following the announcement, the president has consequently constituted a committee to implement the mergers, scrapping and relocations within 12 weeks.
Jonathan had set up the Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies, under the leadership of former Head of Civil Service, Stephen Oronsaye.
The 800-page report recommended that 263 of the statutory agencies be slashed to 161; 38 agencies be scrapped; 52 be merged and 14 be reverted back to departments in various ministries.
The report also recommended that the law establishing the National Salaries and Wages Commission be repealed and its functions taken over by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
It advised the FG to merge the nation’s top three anti-corruption agencies—the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission and the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Idris who gave details of what transpired at FEC said: “There is a landmark decision that was taken by the Federal Executive Council today. In 2012, the administration of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan instituted the so-called Oronsaye Report. It is aimed at rationalizing the federal government parastatals, agencies and commissions.
“Now, a paper was turned-in in 2012, but the implementation got stalled. Again, in 2021, almost seven years after that, the former President Muhammadu Buhari also initiated a process to consider the 2014 white paper on the Oronsaye Report. Again, the implementation of that also got stalled. Now, instead of the rationalization, that that Oronsaye Report was aimed to achieve, many other agencies and commissions were established.
“In a very bold move today, this administration, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, consistent again with his courage to take very far-reaching decisions in the interest of Nigerians, has taken a decision to implement the so called Oronsaye Report.
“Now, what that means is that a number of agencies, commissions, and some departments have actually been scrapped, some have been merged, while others have been subsumed. Others, of course, have also been moved from some ministries to others where government feels they will operate better.
“Like I said, this is a very far-reaching decision. It is aimed, one, to fine-tune or to restructure government operations as a whole. Secondly, it’s in line also with decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reduce the cost of governance”, he said.
The Minister, however, explained that the adoption of the report did not mean people working in the affected agencies and departments will lose their jobs.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman, provided an exhaustive list of the agencies, commissions and parastatals affected in the reorganization saying, “for agencies that are required to be merged, I’ll take it; National Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA) to be merged with the Centre for Disease Control in the Federal Ministry of Health.
“National Emergency Management Agency to be merged with the National Commission for Refugee Migration and Internally Displaced Persons; the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa to be merged with Directorate of Technical Aid and to function as a department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
“Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission to be merged with the Bureau for Public Enterprises; Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission to be merged with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council; National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure to be merged with National Centre for Agriculture Mechanization and Project Development Institute.
“The National Biotechnology Development Agency to be merged with the National Centre for Genetic Resource and Biotechnology; the National Institute for Leather Science Technology to be merged with the National Institute for Chemical Technology; the Nomadic Education Commission to the merge with the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult Education and Non-formal Education.
“The Federal Radio Corporation to be merged with the Voice of Nigeria; the National Commission for Museum and Monuments to be merged with the National Gallery of Arts; the National Theatre to be merged with the National Troupe of Nigeria; the National Metrological Development Centre to be merged with the National Metrological Training Institute.
“The Nigerian Army University, Biu, to be merged with the Nigerian Defense Academy, to function as a faculty within the Nigerian Defense Academy; Air Force Institute of Technology also to be merged with the Nigerian Defense Academy, to function as a faculty of Nigerian Defense Academy.
“We now move to the agencies to be subsumed. The Service Compact with Nigeria (SERVICOM) to be subsumed to function as a department under the Bureau for Public Service Reform; the Border Communities Development Agency to be subsumed to function as a department under the National Boundary Commission. The National Salaries Income and Wages Commission to be subsumed into the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission.
“The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution to be subsumed under the Institute for International Affairs; the Public Complaints Commission to be subsumed under the National Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis to be subsumed into the Institute for Veterinary Research; the National Medicine Development Agency to be subsumed under the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development. The National Intelligence Agency Pension Commission to be subsumed under the Nigerian Pension Commission.
“For agencies to be relocated, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company to be relocated to the Ministry of Power; the National Agricultural Land Development Agency to be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security; the National Blood Service Commission to be converted into an agency and relocated to the Federal Ministry of Health; the Nigerian Diaspora Commission to be converted into an agency and to be relocated to the Federal Ministry of Finance”, she said
Usman on the constituted committee that will work within a 12-week period to ensure that the necessary restructuring and legislative amendments that are needed to ensure that full actualization of these approvals granted, Usman said that President Tinubu tasked the committee with an immediate term of reference to proceed and ensure all of these are done within a period of 12 weeks.
The committee membership comprises of the Secretary to the Government of Federation who will chair it while members are the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reform, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination; the two Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly and the Cabinet Affairs Office will serve as secretariat.
“The committee will look at the administrative restructuring and also the legislative amendments required to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations. There are other aspects of recommendations that have also been passed to the committee to look at. It’s important for us to appreciate the bold approval granted by Mr. President at the Federal Executive Council.
“This has been a recommendation that has been, I think, in the Nigerian discourse from 2012 and we’re here in 2024 and it’s so been approved and the aspects that are applicable to mergers, as I said, subsuming, scrapping and relocation of agencies are those that have been so considered, arising from the totality of the panel report”, she said.